Resident Evil: A Change In Pace
by Snafu the Great
Summary: Alt. Title: Biohazard: A New Direction Taken. From the R.P.D. to the B.S.A.A. From Raccoon City to Kijuju and the aftermath. This is a retelling of the lives of the First Couple of Survival Horror. Throw in zombies, monsters and everything else, and you are in for one wild ride.
1. 1: The New Guy

**Resident Evil: A Change In Pace **

**Alt. Title - Biohazard: A New Direction Taken**

A Resident Evil Fanfiction

By Snafu the Great

Snafu's Disclaimer and Introduction: I do not own the motley crew, locations, weapons and viruses/Plaga used in the Resident Evil universe. If I had, I would stick Al Wesker, Chris and Evil Jill in a cage match against Ryu, M. Bison (the dictator) and Chun-Li. I claim the OCs, so that's not that big of a loss. With the completion of Resident Evil 5, there was a nagging thought in the back of my demented little skull...what if certain events in the storyline played out differently than in the official canon? Which is why for the past year, I've been working on this little project after completing Resident Evil: Reflections. It's far from complete, but the story is coming along nicely.

This fanfic is basically, a look into the lives of the First Couple of Survival Horror, and it follows most of the official storyline, but with a twist. Taking a page out of J.J. Abrams' book when he did Star Trek, this is an 'alternative universe fanfic,' in which as mentioned above, key elements have taken place differently in this fanfic. This fanfic has plenty of violence, so you have been warned. Also, this fanfic will cover Resident Evils 1-6, as well as Code: Veronica and Degeneration.

Also, I must warn you that both Chris and Jill are slightly out-of-character, mostly as to how they fight, their personalities, and use various types of firearms, some of which was inspired by the scenes in Resident Evil 5 where Jill beats the shit out of both Chris and Sheva, as well as Chris's military background, and his upcoming appearance in Marvel vs Capcom 3. Their styles will be revealed as the story unfolds. Also, as I was researching the characters on RE Wiki, I saw that some of their vital stats (mainly, their heights) were retconned for Resident Evil 5, so I'm going to go with those as well. And no, Chris will not look like he's been juicing up on steroids by the time Kijuju rolls around. He starts off with a medium build ala Royce from Predators, and will progress throughout the story.

Most of the information I picked up regarding the weapons and certain viruses/Plaga I give credit to Resident Evil Wiki. Part of my inspiration for writing this fanfic comes from Story of Us, also a RE fanfic written by strike, as well as several fanfics by The Magnificent Kiwi. I also drew inspiration from the Wildstorm comics, as well as the S.D. Perry novels, and RE: Apocalypse. And keeping with RE tradition, there's gonna be plenty of diary and journal entries in the story. Oh, and be on the lookout for appearances from characters in the series. I hope you enjoy this fanfic.

UPDATE: No, this story is not dead. Not by a longshot. I had to retcon Jill's ethnic background for the story, as official canon has her as French-Japanese. Seriously. French on her dad's side, Japanese on her mom's side. Plus, Jill has a more intimate connection to Umbrella aside from P-20.

**Part One - Raccoon City**

_**Chapter One: The New Recruit**_

A.N.: For time purposes, I've used part of a discontinued RE fanfic for parts of the first chapter. Also, the minor errors are corrected.

Raccoon City, Colorado – 200 miles southeast of Denver (one year before the Mansion Incident...)

Raccoon City. A nice mountain town located at the base of the surrounding Raccoon Forest and the Arklay Mountains whose population barely reached over 100,000.

It was also raining. Or it has been, for most of the day.

Christopher Redfield was sitting in his truck, an old Ford pickup, listening to the radio at the traffic light. The windshield wipers were thumping back and forth, as Chris popped a stick of chewing gum in his mouth. So far, he had not touched a cigarette ever since leaving the Air Force, keeping his promise to his sister, hence the gum.

The crash, followed by the bone-rattling impact caught Chris off guard. He lurched forward in his seat, but his seat belt kept him from going through the window. After a few moments, he realizes two things: One, he was pushed into the intersection by a few feet. Two, he had been rear-ended. He looked in the rear-view mirror, and saw another car – a classic 1967 Chevrolet Camaro – wedged between his truck and a smaller truck. He groaned to himself as he undid the seat belt and jumped out of the truck.

"This is not my day," he muttered to himself.

* * *

For the owner of the Camaro, a slender, dark-haired woman, this definitely was not supposed to happen.

Jillianne C. Valentine sat in her car, drumming her fingers on the steering wheel, listening to her CD. Her three-day vacation was over and she was on her way to the Raccoon Police Department, at Captain Wesker's request when the accident happened. The S.T.A.R.S. were getting themselves a new teammate, highly recommended by Barry himself, and Wesker had requested both Alpha and Bravo teams to be present.

She felt her car being slammed from behind. A second later, her car had smashed into the truck in front of her. Even though she had her seat belt on, she was jerked around pretty good.

"Ow," Jill winced as she rubbed the spot on her head where she had struck the steering wheel. She looked in her rear-view mirror. She had been rear-ended, her car propelling into the pickup that was in front of her.

She unbuckled her seat-belt and got out of the car, just as the driver in front of her got out of the truck.

Despite the unusual circumstances, Jill looked at the guy. He was attractive, tall, standing at six feet tall, with short, spiky brown hair and hazel eyes. He was dressed in a T-shirt, and khaki pants. Jill noticed that the guy was muscular. Not like Barry, who lived in the gym when he wasn't at work or spending time with his family, but more leaner and wiry. Given her past stint in the Army, Jill saw that his posture read military.

Chris looked at the woman. She was very attractive, exotic, but not petite, standing at five feet eight, with short brown hair ending at her neckline, the hair pulled back into a short ponytail. The unusual thing about her that stood out was her eyes. Most dark-haired women in general had brown eyes. This woman, however, her eyes were a unique shade of blue. Her lithe figure showed through the blue denim jeans and the black T-shirt with the phrase **TOKEN REQUIRED** emblazoned on the front. A pair of tennis shoes adorned her feet.

The car, however, would have to be towed. Chris's truck, thankfully was made out of harder stuff. He would still be able to drive.

"You okay?" Chris asked.

Jill nodded. "I'll live," she replied as she turned to her car. "Wish I can say the same about my car. I just had the thing detailed. Now I'm gonna be late."

By this time, the third driver, the one who caused the wreck, had emerged from the truck, blubbering apologies. Apparently, he had skidded on the wet road and slammed into the Camaro.

By this time, the police had arrived. Chris noticed that two of the cops knew the woman by name. His suspicions were confirmed when she flashed her badge at the two.

While the two cops were busy getting the statement from the third driver, Chris walked over to Jill. "You're a cop?" he asked.

"I am," Jill replied. "How do you know?"

Chris pointed to the cruiser. "Those two officers knew who you were. When you showed your badge to them, that confirmed it for me. I can give you a lift to the police station, since I'm headed that way. First day on the job and I'm gonna be late."

"You're joining the police force?"

"Yup. I've been recruited into some elite unit in the R.P.D. Special Tactics and Rescue Squad."

"Service," Jill corrected. "Special Tactics and Rescue Service, or S.T.A.R.S. for short. I work with them." She then paused for a moment. "Wait a second...Wesker and Barry were talking about a new member being recruited to the team, some ex-military commando."

"That would be me. Looks like we'll be working together," Chris said, flashing Jill a smile that was rougish. He extended his hand. "Chris Redfield, formerly of the United States Air Force."

Jill shook his hand. "Jill Valentine."

* * *

From that day forward, nothing was simple.

Jill's car had to be towed away. Fortunately, Chris's pickup was still drivable, given its toughness, although the cargo door had a brand new dent. Since Chris was heading for the police station anyway, he gave Jill a lift.

By that time, the rain had started back up again.

"So do I call you Jill or Valentine?" Chris asked.

"Jill's fine," Jill replied as Chris turned onto Ennerdale Street. "First time in Raccoon?"

"Nope. Claire and I were raised here," Chris replied.

"Claire?"

"My younger sister. She's graduating from Raccoon High this year," Chris explained. "You?"

"I'm an only child. I was born and raised in Stone Ville. I've been in Raccoon for several years. It's not bad, but being one of Raccoon's finest was something I wasn't planning on doing."

"So what were you doing before you became a cop?" Chris asked.

"Professional thief," Jill replied casually. "You ever heard of the 'Gentleman Thief,' Dick Valentin?" When Chris nodded, Jill continued. "I'm his daughter. He taught me the tricks of the trade. When I was sixteen, I was breaking into cars. After I graduated from high school at seventeen, I got caught on a breaking and entering charge. The judge at my trial gave me a choice – jail for five years or join the military for four years in order to learn some discipline. So I enlisted in the Army, stationed over in Fort Bragg with the 82nd Airborne, and later, Fort Belvoir. I was discharged at twenty-one with the rank of Specialist. I didn't want to return to my hometown, so I moved here, got a job with the R.P.D., and the rest is history."

"Smart move. So how you got into S.T.A.R.S.?" Chris asked.

"I was working with the R.P.D. for almost half a year, specializing in break-ins, when I was asked by Captain Wesker for help on a difficult case," Jill explained. "Thanks to my help, the case was closed faster than expected. The following day, Wesker approached me with a job working with S.T.A.R.S., and I accepted."

"Look at it this way," Chris said. "You're not in jail."

"True. So what about you, Redfield? Any family other than your sister?"

Chris stiffened slightly. Jill noticed this and cursed mentally to herself. She had hit a sore spot with Chris.

"My parents were in a car accident when I was seventeen," Chris explained. "Drunk driver hit them head-on. The drunk survived without a scratch. They were both killed on impact. I had to raise Claire on my own. I allowed her to return to Raccoon City for her senior year in high school."

"I'm sorry," Jill replied. "And the driver?"

"Serving life in prison, no parole."

Jill could sympathize with Chris. She too had lost her mother at a young age, leaving her father to raise her by himself. But she couldn't help but to be impressed by the level of responsibility that radiated off of Chris. Aside from being a career military man, he had raised his sister by himself.

"And here we are," Chris said as he pulled the truck into the parking garage that was situated across the street from the stone building that housed the Raccoon Police Department.

Chris cut the engine and removed the key from the ignition. "Excuse me," he said as he reached over to his glove compartment and unlocked it.

Inside the compartment was a handgun. A Heckler and Kotch USP handgun, military issue, unlike the police-issued Browning Hi-Power pistols and VP70s that the R.P.D. used. Chris reached inside and removed the weapon. Making sure that the safety was on, Chris stuck it inside his shoulder holster, which Jill now noticed that it was concealed by his bomber jacket.

"Nice gun. USP?" Jill inquired.

Chris nodded. "Yup." He motioned to the gun – a Heckler and Kotch VP70 – on her hip holster. "I see you're also into the H&K models."

"They're standard firearms for the R.P.D., aside from the Browning Hi-Power handguns," Jill explained as she and Chris got out of the truck. "I'm not that really big on the Brownings. Since you're expected, just follow me."

The courtyard gates were open, allowing Chris and Jill to enter easily. Upon entering the lobby of the R.P.D., it was bustling with activity. Uniformed police officers and plainclothes detectives went about their business. Just another day at the office.

Chris looked around the place. "The R.P.D. bought out the old art museum?"

Jill nodded. "We grew out of the old station house," she explained. "The city gave the police force a pretty sweet deal. Follow me."

Jill lead Chris down to a set of double doors. When they entered the reception area, they were stopped by one of the cops there. Like most of the others, he was in uniform, the name tag read **RYMAN**.

"Morning, Valentine," the cop greeted.

"Morning, Kevin," Jill replied.

Kevin Ryman looked at Chris. "Who's he?"

"The newest member of S.T.A.R.S.," Jill replied. "Sorry, Kevin. You didn't make it through the selection process."

Kevin's jaw dropped. Usually, the Raccoon S.T.A.R.S. unit would recruit members within the police force. This guy was a newcomer, and had taken his spot.

Jill decided to leave Kevin alone and lead Chris down to another corridor – an L-shaped hallway.

"Selection process?" Chris inquired. "Since when did S.T.A.R.S. had a selection process?"

"It was something that Captain Wesker had cooked up," Jill explained. "He wants only the best of the best. Kevin's flunked the selection process twice. Come to think of it, this is the first time that Wesker's hired someone outside of the R.P.D."

"Actually, I got a friend who works here," Chris admitted. "Barry Burton."

"Wait. You know Barry?" Jill asked.

Chris nodded. "My dad knew him when he used to work here at the police station, so yeah, I know him. He promised to put in a good word for me with your boss. Barry called me last night, telling me that I was hired and to come here today."

"That explains a lot," Jill said. "But still...you're probably the first person outside the R.P.D. that Wesker's ever hired, and he's very picky about those who want to join up in S.T.A.R.S. Better hope you can live up to the Captain's expectations, or else you'll be out of a job."

"Thanks for the advice," Chris dryly remarked.

"That wasn't advice. That was a warning. Captain Wesker's a perfectionist," Jill corrected as they reached another door, and another long hallway.

"What can you tell me about Captain Wesker?" Chris asked.

"Well, he sees himself as something of a Renaissance man," Jill explained. "Total Machiavellian attitude, but he's a brilliant commander. He's also pretty anti-social, for some reason. I've never seen him outside the police station. Look for a guy with slicked back blond hair, wears black and has a pair of shades on his face." Soon, they reached a set of double doors. "Here is the briefing room. The others should be here."

Inside the Briefing Room, there were over a dozen men inside, seated at the desks, chatting amongst themselves. Chris took notice of the single man standing behind the podium – a walking mountain of muscle with reddish brown hair.

The man also took notice upon seeing Chris and Jill enter the room. "You made it, Chris," Barry Burton said, shaking his hand. "Find the place okay?"

Chris nodded. "Good to see you too, Barry. How's Kathy and the girls?"

"They're doing fine," Barry replied. "Kathy sends her regards." He motioned to Jill. "I see you met our resident 'Mistress of Unlocking' already."

"He gave me a lift," Jill said. "I got rear-ended on my way here and rear-ended his truck. He told me who he was and why he was here."

It was then the doors opened and the captain of the Special Tactics and Rescue Service stepped in. A man, late thirties, dressed in black, with blond hair, neatly combed back, the pair of expensive shades covering his blue eyes. In one hand, was a manila folder with the name **REDFELD, CHRISTOPHER LAWRENCE** emblazoned on the front.

The man looked at Chris. "You're Chris Redfield?" he asked.

Chris nodded. "I am. You must be Captain Wesker."

Albert Wesker nodded as he shook Chris's hand. "Good assumption. Albert Wesker, S.T.A.R.S. commander. And it's just Wesker. We're a low-key outfit here." He motioned to the file in his hands. "Been looking through your file. Makes for some interesting reading." He opened the folder and began to read off Chris's stats and accomplishments. "Christopher Lawrence Redfield. Born 11 April 1973 at Naval Station Norfolk, Virginia. Moved to Raccoon City with his parents at age 5. Parents deceased – Scottish ancestry on your father's side, mother's a Dutch immigrant. A younger sister. Graduated from West Raccoon High School at the age of 14 with an IQ of 198 – most impressive, with high marks in mathematics, physics and science. Fluent in several languages, pretty handy. Graduated from Raccoon University at 17 with a double degree in Advanced Mechanics and International Relations."

Jill looked at Chris, obviously shocked, as were the gathered members inside the briefing room. Appearances were obvious misleading, since she didn't peg Chris Redfield as a genius, since his devil-may-care attitude was very deceiving.

Chris caught her look and simply shrugged his shoulders. "What? So I'm a prodigy."

"Commissioned as a Second Lieutenant in the Air Force, the youngest in its history, following completion of Officer Candidate School. Did you know that Jill here is also ex-military?" Wesker asked, nodding his head in Jill's direction. "If memory serves, she was in the Army for four years. She also received firearms and advanced combat training from First Special Forces Operational Detachment. Aside from that, she is – or was – the youngest ever to join the Army's Military Police Corps at the age of nineteen. The standard recruiting age for the military police is twenty-one."

Chris looked at Jill, surprise written on his own face. "Delta Force, huh? That part I did not know."

Wesker chuckled as he continued to read off Chris's dossier. "Assigned to the U.S. Air Force Security Forces, and later, U.S.A.F. Combat Control Team as a sharpshooter. Crack-shot, ranked second in international competition. Skilled in hand-to-hand combat, and an accomplished mechanic and pilot. Awards include the Purple Heart, the Silver Star – twice, Air Force Cross – also twice, countless recommendations from various officers. Court-martialed and found guilty for exceeding authority over his rank and insubordination, and was given a choice: a dismissal or a general discharge with rank intact." He closed the file. "Care to explain?"

Despite Wesker's eyes concealed by his shades, Chris met his gaze. "I believe that human life means much more than rank, Wesker."

"Meaning...?"

"I was a First Lieutenant when I volunteered for a stint with the U.N.," Chris began. "I was friends with a RAF officer named MacPherson. Crazy bastard from Liverpool, but a good man. We were sent to the Balkans on a special peacekeeping mission when we were caught in a sniper's nest. Three of the U.N. representatives were killed, and two members of my team was injured, myself included. The order to withdraw was given, and to cut our losses. But I couldn't leave MacPherson out there to bleed to death."

Wesker put two and two together. "You went back and rescued your fallen comrade."

"That's right. MacPherson pulled through, thankfully. Should have gotten a medal. Instead, I was put on trial for disobeying orders. I was found guilty and given the choice of facing time in the brig, a loss in rank and a dismissal, or a general discharge with my rank intact. I chose the latter."

"Pretty noble thing, saving your friend's life," Wesker admitted. "But insubordination does not fly with me, Redfield. You work for and take orders from me, understand?"

Chris kept his poker face. "Crystal."

"There's an open spot in Alpha Team, due to the fact that I had to move some people around," Wesker continued. "And since some of the officers told me about how Valentine literally ran into you, she's your new partner." He turned to the other men in the room. "This is the pride of the Raccoon Police Department – Special Tactics and Rescue Service. You'll be working with me on Alpha Team. Barry's the second-in-command."

"Gee," the man in the bandanna said from the front row. "You sure know how to make friends quick, Jill." he stood up and shook Chris's hand. "Joseph Frost, mechanic."

"Chris Redfield."

Joseph pointed to the other man who was asleep on the desk. "That's Brad Vickers, our resident pilot. We all call him 'Chickenheart,' due to the fact that he's better off in a chopper than on the battlefield."

Brad raised his head. "Bite me," he said before placing his head back onto the desk.

Chris surveyed the rest of the men in the room. "And this is Bravo Team, right?"

The dark-haired man with the mustache and stubble nodded. "That's right." He stood up and shook Chris's hand. "Enrico Marini, leader for S.T.A.R.S. Bravo Team."

He pointed a thumb to the rest of the men. These are my men. That's Kenneth Sullivan, our biochemist, Richard Aiken, our communications expert, Kevin Dooly, our pilot, and that's Forest Speyer, our marksman. Edward's not here. He's at home nursing a cold."

Forest took a step forward. "You're the new guy, huh? So what's your specialty?"

Chris's eyes flashed as he rose to the challenge. "Marksman."

Forest humphed. "Funny. I'm also a marksman. So what are your credentials, Redfield?"

"You heard it from Wesker," Chris replied. "Crack-shot, ranked second. I even got several marksman championships to back that up."

"OOooohh," the other S.T.A.R.S. members ad-libed.

"Okay," Forest said. "Let's see how good you are, Air Force."

"Lead the way."

* * *

Due to the fact that the Raccoon Police Department was lacking a firing range on the police grounds, the police firing range was located one block away from the police station.

Both Alpha and Bravo Teams were there, including Captain Wesker and Police Chief Brian Irons, as well as several police officers. Normally, Wesker would seldom be seen at the range, but he was just as curious as how good Chris Redfield is.

Meanwhile, Jill watched as the impromptu shooting contest went underway. Two of the cops, a tall, African-American man and a short-haired blonde woman around Jill's height, made their way over to the female S.T.A.R.S. member.

"What's going on?" Rita asked, her voice laced with her heavy Louisiana accent. "Who's the new guy challenging Forest to a shooting contest?"

"He's the newest recruit to S.T.A.R.S.," Jill replied. "His name is Chris Redfield. Ex-Air Force commando." She then added sheepishly, "I kinda rear-ended him this morning on my way in. Wesker's assigned us as partners."

Marvin Branagh shook his head. "I don't want to know," he said.

Meanwhile, Chris and Forest faced each other. "After you," Chris said.

Forest grinned and pulls out his Beretta handgun and proceeds to put an entire clip into the paper target. When the paper target came back, there were several holes in the head, chest and torso.

Chris shook his head. "My turn."

He took off his bomber jacket, revealing the shoulder holster underneath. Jill noticed that he was in good shape. He wasn't a gym buff like Barry, but the muscles were nicely defined. Chris pulled out his USP and ejected the clip. He picked up a fresh clip and a box of nine-millimeter parabellum rounds resting nearby. He then ejected the clip from the gun and began to load the new one with the bullets.

"What are you doing?" Forest asked.

Chris continued to load the bullets. "Just so you see that I'm not shooting blanks."

While Chris loaded his gun, Rita shot a look at Chris. "You gotta admit that he has a cute butt, Valentine," she admitted.

That earned Rita a glare from the dark-haired woman. "Honestly," Jill replied as she shook his head. "Get your mind out of the gutter, Rita."

"What? Can't say that I'm right, Jill," Rita defended.

Chris finished loading the clip and slaps it home. Chris flipped off the safety and pulled the slide back, jacking a round inside the chamber, right before assuming a perfect ready stance and unloading all fifteen rounds into the paper target within the space of five seconds.

When the target came back there, was nothing but a **single** hole in the paper, right between the eyes.

Murmurs of amazement were heard throughout the firing range. Forest, in the meantime, did a nice impression of a fish out of water. Even Wesker and Chief Irons was impressed.

Jill did a double take. "Wow. Nice aim."

"Whoa," was all that Kenneth had said.

Chris allowed himself a smug grin as he placed the weapon on safety.

"Impressive, Chris," Wesker said. "Most impressive. Looks like Forest has himself a new rival."

"He got lucky," Forest snorted.

Chris's grin remained on his face as he reached for another clip and reloaded his gun. "You think so?" he asked, flipping off the safety and loading a new paper target. Pressing the button to send the target back, Chris said, "This time, I'm going to call the shots."

Chris raised the gun. "Left pectoral."

**BANG!**

"Right pectoral."

**BANG!**

"Left and right kidneys."

**BANG! BANG!**

"Left eye."

**BANG!**

"Right eye."

**BANG!**

"Last, the Adam's apple."

**BANG!**

Chris pressed the button, bringing the paper target back. The gathered S.T.A.R.S. and police officers were in awe over Chris's marksmanship abilities as Chris once again put his piece on safety and placed it on the counter.

"Gee, he should be better off in uniform, rather than with S.T.A.R.S.," one of the officers said as he and the others piled out.

As Chris puts his jacket back on Wesker and Irons approach. "Can I see that weapon?" Wesker asks.

Chris hands him the gun and Wesker inspects it. "Hmm...H&K USP...military grade...not bad."

"Certainly not police or S.T.A.R.S. issue," Irons cut in. Turning to Chris, he introduced himself. "Irons. Brian Irons, Chief of Police. Good shooting."

"Thanks," Chris replied.

"In any case, welcome to the R.P.D." With that, Irons walked out.

Wesker, in the meantime, hands Chris back his handgun, who places it back in his holster. "Sorry, Chris, but you won't able to use that gun here. We'll get you a sidearm from the gun rack. I'll see you first thing tomorrow morning, Redfield. 9:00 a.m. sharp," Wesker said before following Irons.

Chris watches him leave. "He doesn't like anybody, does he?" he asked Jill.

"Not really. By the way, you're a pretty good shot," Jill replies as she and Chris walked to his truck. "Hey, can you give me a ride home later? It'll give me the chance to apologize for the dent I gave you."

The rest of the day was spent with Jill explaining the rules and regulations of S.T.A.R.S. Aside from training, the unit also helps the R.P.D. on various cases, serving as mechanics, detectives and in some cases, uniformed police. Chris's photograph was taken and he was issued his R.P.D. badge and police uniforms.

* * *

"Since we're going to be partners," Chris said as he maneuvered his truck through the city streets, "and that you know my personal tidbits, what about you?"

"I was born in Stone Ville. I'm French on my father's side," Jill explained. "Dad's parents came from Lyon before moving to the States. Dad was born in Boston, but moved around a lot all over Europe, as Grandpa was an engineer. My mom was, believe it or not, Japanese. She lived here in Raccoon City, where she worked as a nurse at the hospital, before moving to Stone Ville." She cocked her head to the side. "You don't look like a genius, you know. I always thought geniuses had the Coke-bottle-frame glasses and the pocket protectors with the wire braces on their teeth. I'm surprised that someone like you is working for S.T.A.R.S. instead of Umbrella."

The Umbrella Corporation, the worldwide pharmaceutical conglomerate, had offices downtown and a chemical plant within the city limits, as well as a research facility in the downtown area. It was also one of the major sources of income for the Midwest city and was nearly responsible for downtown Raccoon's revival.

Chris chuckled. "Yeah, and you don't look like someone who's worked with Delta Force or with the Mps, let alone being half-Japanese. Believe it or not, I was actually scouted by Umbrella, Tricell, and several more organizations when I graduated from college. They had a pretty sweet deal, but the Air Force had an even better package for me. So I went to the military instead. Dad was a bit upset that the Navy didn't offer me a deal, but he got over it. What about you, Jill? Aside from being an ex-thief, do you have any talents?"

Jill ticked off her fingers. "Like you, I'm also a college graduate – Criminal Justice major. I graduated last year from Raccoon University. I'm also a peak athlete, and quite skilled in hand-to-hand combat myself, mostly kickboxing. I can also play the piano – something my mother taught me. Given my upbringing, I can speak both French and Japanese. You already know about my stint in the Army as well as my training with Delta Force with the military police. Thanks to them, I'm a crack-shot, third best on S.T.A.R.S. Forest is the top marksman, but given what I've seen you do, he's got some serious competition."

"And your father?"

"We're still close, despite the fact that he's in jail. I visit him every chance I get," Jill replied. "It's okay, though. Turn left here." A smile crept her face. "It's funny, though, I really didn't have a normal upbringing when I was growing up. Whenever I was with Dad, he would teach me how to pick locks and break into homes."

"You mean he actually took you on some of his..."

Jill nodded. "Yup. Dad considered that 'on the job training.' When I got busted, he told me to take the deal, make something of myself. Here we are. Stop here."

Chris pulls to a halt in front of an apartment building. "Here you go."

Jill stepped out of the truck and closed the door behind her. "Thanks." She gave him a small smile. "I'm really sorry about this morning."

Chris waved her off. "Don't worry about it. No one got hurt, so it's okay."

"Can you pick me up tomorrow morning?"

Chris nodded. "Sure. Eight okay with you?"

Jill nodded. "Perfect."

Chris gave her a friendly wave before driving off into the night. Jill watched until the truck was out of sight and sighed. 'That was unexpected,' she thought as she stepped into her building. 'Rita was right. He does have a cute butt,' she thought wryly.

Next Chapter: A not-so-typical day working at the R.P.D. The S.T.A.R.S. get some new toys. Wesker gets a visit from an old college buddy. Chris and Jill's lunch hour gets cancelled while at the bank.


	2. Raccoon Police File: Redfield, Chris

Snafu's Notes: Now most of what I got here is canon, but some of the stars were blank, so I filled them in. This is an AU piece, remember. So enjoy. I've taken the original and revamped it. There will be two profiles: one R.P.D., and one B.S.A.A.

[Chris' dossier, in which Wesker was reading earlier. There are three pictures of Chris inside: one at his high school graduation, the second is him in his Air Force officer's dress uniform (complete with the rank of Lieutenant), the third in his R.P.D. winter uniform.]

**R.P.D. FILE: REDFIELD, CHRISTOPHER**

**Nationality:** American  
**Full Name: **Christopher Lawrence Redfield  
**Date of Birth:** April 11, 1973  
**Place of Birth:** Naval Station Norfolk, Virginia  
**Height:** 6 feet, 1 inch  
**Weight:** 177 pounds  
**Hair:** Dark Brown  
**Eyes:** Dark Brown  
**Blood Type:** O  
**Family:** Lawrence Callahan Redfield, father (deceased); Anne-Marie Redfield (nee, Van Der Broeck), mother (deceased); Claire Redfield, younger sister  
**Specialty:** Certified pilot, former child prodigy (180 IQ), fluent in several languages, crackshot - tied 1st in international competition  
**Hobby:** Cooking - has a taste for Oriental dishes  
**Favorite Food:** Teriyaki beef  
**Favorite Sport:** Track and Field  
**Most Valuable:** His father's Colt M1911 pistol  
**Likes:** Repairing Engines  
**Dislikes:** His ex-fiancee, anyone who insults his family  
**Background:**  
- Age 14: Graduated from West Raccoon High School - 4.0 GPA.  
- Age 17: Graduated from Raccoon University - dual degree in International Relations and Advanced Mechanics.  
- Age 18: Completed Officers Candidate School, commissioned as a Second Lieutenant in the U.S. Air Force.  
- Age 20: Assigned to the Air Force's Combat Control Unit under Lieutenant Colonel Roland Graham.  
- Age 23: Promoted to First Lieutenant.  
- Age 24: Court-martialed for insubordination. Accepts a general discharge with rank intact.  
- Age 25: Recruited to the Raccoon Police Department's S.T.A.R.S. unit.  
**Occupation:** Formerly of the Air Force - Combat Control Unit, currently employed with the Raccoon Police Department - Special Tactics and Rescue Service

The son of a former Navy officer-turned Raccoon Police detective and his Dutch-born wife - a nurse at the Raccoon Hospital, Chris Redfield is the recent addition to the Raccoon Police Department's Special Tactics and Rescue Service. Prior to his recruitment into S.T.A.R.S., Chris was a rising officer in the United States Air Force. A talented prodigy with high marks in physics, science and mathematics, Chris decided to join the military, and earned his commission at the age of seventeen. Following the deaths of his parents in a car accident soon thereafter, Chris took it upon himself to raise his younger sister, Claire Redfield, on his own.

A talented marksman and pilot, Chris was recruited into the Air Force's Combat Control Unit two years into his commission, where he served under Lieutenant Colonel Roland Graham, who had taken Chris as his protege. By the age of twenty, Chris is an experienced combat veteran with countless recommendations and awards for his service to his country. However, it was during a United Nations peacekeeping mission which he had volunteered for that Chris' career as an Air Force officer came to an abrupt end. Defying his superiors' orders to cut his losses and retreat, Chris braved sniper fire to rescue a wounded comrade, getting injured himself in the process.

Despite his selfless actions and his courage under fire, Chris was court-martialed upon returning stateside for insubordination. Despite his astonishing combat record and testimony from Lt. Colonel Graham, Chris was found guilty. However, it was because of his war record (as well as a boatload of luck), that Chris was given a choice: a dismissal from the Air Force or a general discharge with his rank intact. Chris chose the latter. Returning to Raccoon City, Chris called in a favor to a friend of the family - Barry Burton. Three weeks after his return, Chris receives the call he was waiting for. He was hired by the Raccoon Police Department's S.T.A.R.S. unit. Through a twist of fate (i.e., a car accident), he meets fellow R.P.D. officer Jill Valentine, who would later be assigned to his partner by Captain Wesker.

Chris' IQ is that of a geinus level, which had caught the attention of Umbrella and Tricell when he was younger. Given that he was the only high school student who was years younger, Chris learned how to defend himself from his father, and his skills had only increased during his stint in the Air Force. His mother took over his education during the summer, training his mind to be razor sharp, which would serve him well, along with his father's self-defense training methods. There are some reports that Chris' intelligence is on par with Wesker's own, while he maintains a friendly rivalry with Bravo Team sniper Forest Speyer.


	3. 2: Daily Grind

_**Chapter Two: Daily Grind**_

Nearly a month and a half had passed since Chris joined the R.P.D.'s S.T.A.R.S. unit.

Aside from being the R.P.D.'s elite special unit which specialized in neutralizing specific threats, such as the occasional militia nutjob and religious nutter that comes venturing down from the mountains, the Special Tactics and Rescue Service also worked alongside the normal police officers, rotating as uniformed officers and police detectives.

The Raccoon Police Department had three types of police uniforms - formal, summer and winter. Whereas the winter uniforms were full-sleeved dark blue uniforms similar to that of the Los Angeles Police Department, only with the R.P.D. insignia stiched onto the sleeve, while the formal police uniform were similar to the current formal police uniforms seen on the New York Police Department the summer police uniform was similar to the classic police uniforms, also of the NYPD from a decade earlier - a light blue shirt, with the insignia of the R.P.D. on a dark blue background stitched onto the short sleeves, and dark blue pants.

At the moment, Chris Redfield was dressed in the latter, since it was Alpha Team's turn to work with the uniformed officers. The navy blue eight-point policeman's cap was on his dashboard, while his sidearm - a VP70 was at his side holster. Chris had absolutely refused to arm himself with a Browning and went with the VP70 instead.

He was outside Jill's apartment building, waiting for her to show up, since her car was still being repaired. After all, parts for a classic muscle car were indeed hard to come by, forcing Jill to have the parts repaired and rebuilt. At least she was insured for the damages.

The passenger door opened and Jill stepped in. Like Chris, she was also dressed in the R.P.D. police uniform, her policeman's hat in one hand. Her short brown hair was tied back into a ponytail.

"Morning, Chris. Been waiting long?" Jill asked.

"Only for about three minutes," Chris said as he put the truck into drive and pulled out.

* * *

Upon arriving at the R.P.D., Chris and Jill had commandeered a squad car and were out patrolling the city streets, Jill behind the wheel while Chris was riding shotgun. Wesker - also in a R.P.D. uniform, but never without his glasses - had assigned the two partners to patrol downtown and uptown Raccoon City.

So far, the morning was peaceful. Aside from catching a couple of kids cutting school and a jaywalker, nothing was uneventful. Soon, lunch had arrived and they were now sitting at a window booth inside Emmy's Diner, one of the more popular hangouts in the city.

Jill had ordered the diner's special, which was a tuna sandwich, a side order of potato chips and a bottle of water, while Chris had a bowl of chili and a glass of iced tea. The two police officers were busy making small talk with each other. As it turned out, Emmy's Diner was also a popular eatery among the police officers. The owner, whose diner was named after her, her father was a cop.

Jill, in the meantime, was in the middle of a giggling fit as Chris entertained her with a story from his past days as a cadet for the military academy. One of his upperclassmen who acted like he was God's gift to the world and treated Chris and the underclassmen like dirt received his just rewards.

"Oh, my God," Jill had said in between laughs. "That was so mean."

Chris grinned. "Can't say that he had it coming," he replied as he took a sip of his drink. "He still didn't find out who had dumped a smoke grenade in his wash and left him with a female officer's uniform. That prank was priceless."

After a moment, Jill said, "You know, we've been partners for a while now and you didn't even told me your parents' names."

"Thought I did," Chris replied.

"No, you didn't, Redfield," Jill replied. "Humor me."

"My father's name was Lawrence Callahan Redfield," Chris replied. "My mom's maiden name was Anne-Marie Van Der Broeck."

"Remind me to write that one down," Jill mused. After a moment, she said, "We've worked together for over two months and I'm still not believing that you're a prodigy."

Chris shrugged his shoulders. "Most people don't. I like having them think that I'm some kind of jock who thinks only for himself. Makes the look on their faces even more priceless when I show them up. Also helps to be mindful of your surroundings."

"Something the Air Force has taught you?" Jill asked.

Chris shook his head. "Nah. Something my old man taught me."

The friendly banter was then interrupted by one of the waitresses screaming.

"H-HEY! HE DIDN'T PAY!"

Five seats behind Chris and Jill, one of the diner's patrons made a mad break for the door. Turns out, he had to get past the two S.T.A.R.S. officers dressed as cops in order to do so.

Jill turned her head and saw the man coming her way. Without getting out of her seat, Jill casually extended her leg out from under the table, right into the guy's path. The guy tripped over Jill's leg, and fell face-first to the floor, just as one of the cooks - a tall, balding man - came running out of the kitchen, baseball bat in hand, preparing to stop the thief, only to see Jill perform the task.

"Ow," the guy on the floor said as he rolled onto his back, finding himself looking into the faces of Chris and Jill.

"Seriously, a dine-and-dash?" Jill deadpanned. "Who does that in this day and age?" She reached into her pouch and produced a pair of handcuffs. "Hope you like jewelery."

"Fuck you, cop," the guy snarled.

"You're not my type," Jill replied as she turned the guy over and slapped the steel on his wrists, reading him his Miranda rights.

At least nabbing the guy had gained both Chris and Jill a free lunch from Emmy. So that was a plus.

* * *

Their shift was nearly over when they got the call over the radio. Apparently, a government employee had gone off the deep end after he had been fired from his job and was now in the middle of the street, ranting and raving at the top of his lungs, threatening to kill himself with the semi-automatic pistol in his hand.

"That's something new," Chris mused as Jill turned the car around.

"Tell me about it," Jill muttered as she gunned the engine.

By the time Chris and Jill had arrived on the scene, they saw that half of the R.P.D. was already there, including several of the S.T.A.R.S. members, including Forest, who had a sniper rifle at the ready.

Wesker was also present, as was Barry. Like the S.T.A.R.S. commander, Barry was also in the R.P.D. uniform, Colt Python in his hands while Wesker was busy surveying the situation.

Several cop cars had both ends of the street blocked off, preventing any escape. From the sidelines, a crowd had formed, watching the standoff from a safe distance. News cameras have also arrived on the scene, and the cameramen were catching the entire spectacle on tape.

Forest had his sniper rifle – a classic bolt-action Springfield 1903 rifle – in place and had the raving man in his cross-hairs. "Got him in my sights, boss," the Bravo Team sharpshooter said. "Say the word and I'll drop him."

Before Wesker could say anything, the squad car containing Chris Redfield and Jill Valentine came to a stop, and the two partners stepped out of the car.

"Redfield. Valentine," Wesker greeted. "Glad you two made it for the party." He gestured to the man on the street. "Third bureaucrat this month."

On the street, the guy jammed the gun into his mouth, causing some of the bystanders to scream, but he didn't follow through on his suicide attempt as he took the gun out of his mouth and continued to rant and rave.

"Got a name?" Chris asked.

"Marcus Randolph," Barry reported. "Worked for the Interstate Commerce Commission down in City Hall. From what we found out, he was fired today and ended up taking a couple of shots at several of his former co-workers and nailed two cops. One of them was wearing his vest, while the others took one in the leg and he and wounded one of the police dogs."

"The I.C.C.? I heard about that division," Chris said. "They just bought out a couple of apartment buildings in the town, right?" When Wesker and Barry nodded, Chris removed his VP70 and handed it to Jill. "I got him."

Wesker, Barry and Jill looked at him as if he had lost his mind.

"A simple problem requires a diplomatic solution," Chris explained as he stepped from behind the car, telling Forest to hold his fire.

Chris slowly made his way towards the distraught man. When the guy saw him coming, he trained his gun on the young R.P.D. officer. "Stay back!" he commanded.

Chris raised his hands and slowly turned a complete 360 degrees. "Easy, man. I'm unarmed. I just want to talk to you. Be cool."

Marcus responded by drilling the gun's barrel into his own head. "Not a step further! I swear to God I'll kill myself!" he screamed.

"Just calm down, man. I got a question for you. You worked for the Interstate Commerce Commission, right?"

"NO! THEY THREW ME OUT THIS MORNING!" Marcus screamed.

"No shit?" Chris replied. "They just bought out the whole building I was staying in. Said something about turning it into a parking garage or something, I don't know."

"It's so unfair..." Marcus moaned as Chris pulled out several folded sheets of paper from his back pocket.

"I agree," Chris said as he looked at the papers. "Something about the Durable Goods Division. What the hell is that?"

"I don't work there anymore! They're on the second floor!" Marcus ranted.

Chris still held the sheets of paper in his hand. "You know someone I can talk to about this?" he asked, playing the role of the de facto negotiator. "I've written letters, called them, even sent out a couple of e-mails to these guys, and they're jerking me around."

"No...no...NO!"

"I swear, it just drives me crazy," Chris continued.

That was when Marcus took three steps closer to Chris. "You're not crazy! I'M CRAZY!" he bellowed.

When Marcus had taken those three steps towards Chris in his rage, Chris quickly reacted. Chris grabbed the man's gun hand and performed a textbook perfect akido throw, sending him to the ground. Wrenching his gun away from him, and pinning him to the ground with one knee, Chris retrieved his handcuffs and slapped them on the man, who was still screaming bloody murder.

Gasps were heard from the crowd as Chris brought down the lunatic without firing a shot.

"Marcus Randolph, you're under arrest," Chris said, reciting the screaming man his Miranda rights. "You have the right to remain silent...so I suggest you use it. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law. You have the right to have an attorney. If you can't afford one, then one will be provided to you by the courts. You understand these rights as I've explained them to you?"

Marcus was still screaming at the top of his lungs.

"I'll take that as a yes," Chris said as he retrieved Marcus's handgun as police officers approached, guns drawn, not taking any chances. He then stood back up, folded the sheets of paper – which turned out to be copies of his letters of recommendations from his former commanding officer and teammates back in the Air Force – back into his pocket and walked back to Jill, Barry and Wesker.

"You know you're crazy, right?" Forest asked as he placed his rifle on safety.

Chris placed Marcus's gun on the trunk. "Idiot had the safety on."

Jill handed Chris his gun back. "You call that a diplomatic solution?" she asked, eyebrow raised.

"Nah. Usually, I would have knocked his lights out," Chris replied as he holstered his weapon. "He's still alive."

Wesker adjusted his shades. "Not bad, Redfield. Normally I would have shot the guy. But try not to draw that much attention to yourself next time. Last thing we need is a lawsuit on police brutality."

Chris nodded. "Gotcha, Wesker," he said as he and Jill headed back to the car.

* * *

Several days had passed since that day Chris had brought the standoff to a halt.

Right now, the S.T.A.R.S. were assembled inside the Briefing Room on the first floor. Half of Bravo Team were in the R.P.D. patrolman's uniform, whereas Alpha Team was in casual attire. Wesker, as always was dressed in black, and his ever-present shades were over his eyes.

"I got good news," Wesker said as he stood behind the podium. "We're upgrading our guns from that second-rate crap we got from surplus. Kendo's given us a good deal."

"About damn time," Edward Dewey said. "I hate using these damn antique Brownings. They keep jamming up on me. Why couldn't we get some of the better Brownings that the regular cops use?"

Wesker ignored that question. "I've sent Redfield and Valentine to get the guns from Kendo. They should be back shortly."

* * *

Kendo Gun Shop.

"So this is the place, huh?" Chris asked as he and Jill stepped out of his truck. The gun store was located down a two-lane, one-way side street, meaning that Chris would end up having to take the long way around to get back to the police department.

Jill nodded. "Yup. Kendo's the chief supplier of firearms for the R.P.D. His brother, Joe Kendo, is also a dealer, but he's in Exeter. Joe's specialty is making custom guns." She noticed the black car parked in front of Kendo's van. "Looks like Joe's here as well."

The partners entered the gun store. Inside were two men, brothers to be precise. One had what looked like a beer belly while the other was more leaner than the older brother. Lined up on one counter, were seven small crates, big enough to hold two guns each.

"Morning, Kendo," Jill greeted.

The owner of the gun shop, Robert Kendo, looked up from his inventory sheet. "Hey, Valentine. You arrived just in time. Joe here just brought the goods." He looked at Chris. "New partner?"

Jill nodded. "Chris, this is Robert Kendo." She pointed to the slender man. "That's his younger brother, Joe. Kendo, Joe, Chris Redfield."

After the greetings were exchanged, Joe pointed to one of the boxes. "Go ahead and open it. You won't be disappointed."

At least the crates were easy to open. Upon removing the lid, Chris and Jill looked inside the crate.

Inside were two Beretta handguns. Tactical black, sleek and in the right hands, very deadly. The S.T.A.R.S. insignia was etched into the gun's handle.

Chris picked it up and began to inspect it, as did Jill.

"That, my friends, is the Beretta M92F S.T.A.R.S. Special," Joe explained, going into a sales pitch. "Fifteen-round clip, laser sighting optional. The S.T.A.R.S. Special has been built to meet the requirements set by Captain Wesker and Chief Irons. It has fixed sights and dotted posts, as well as capable of producing a two-inch grouping within 25 yards with no variations after...3,000 rounds, give or take."

"Is it capable of double-action fire?" Chris asked.

Joe nodded. "Yup. You can also use it with either hand as well."

Chris eyed his handgun closely. "Hmm...you enlarged and extended the grip panes below the magazine foot. You also redid the hammer spring cap – normally that would have a laynard ring on the end." He pulled the slide back. "This is a Brigadier slide. You placed this on the gun so that it can withstand the use of higher-pressure rounds. It's a bit heavier, though. I also saw an extended slide catch and the barrel's made out of stainless steel."

Jill was amazed at Chris' knowledge. "Wow. I'm impressed."

The Kendos were impressed as well. "Not bad, Redfield. The stainless steel one is for Captain Wesker," Joe said. "Look at the slide."

Chris did so. Etched into the black carbon metal were the words **BERETTA M92F SAMURAI EDGE – RACCOON POLICE DEPARTMENT**, while on the other side simply had **S.T.A.R.S.** etched into the metal.

"Samurai Edge?" Chris inquired as he placed the gun into his holster.

Joe nodded. "Yup. That's what I call her," he said with pride in his voice. There's fourteen guns in total - all of them Berettas. I even tested them all myself and I can guarantee that the Samurai Edge is by far the most balanced of all of the Kendo custom firearms. You miss any of the targets with this baby, then you'd be better off with a teething ring in your holster rather than a gun."

"Of course, if you want to modify it to meet your...personal quirks, then come talk to me," Kendo said.

"Now that you mentioned that," Chris said, "I compete in a couple of marksman competitions. I want this to be a competition-capable weapon. You think you can come up with a medium-weight slide and an adjusted trigger pull?"

Kendo grinned. "Finally. A guy with some creativity. Give me a couple of days, and I'll see what I can do. Wesker said that you would be bringing the payment for these guns?"

Jill nodded. Reaching into her back pocket, she produced an envelope which contained a check from the Raccoon Police Department, signed by Irons himself and handed it to Joe.

Joe accepted the check with a nod. "Pleasure doing business with you," he said. "Let's get you loaded up."

After loading the six remaining boxes into the bed of Chris's truck, both her and Jill were off, taking the long way around – as Chris had predicted – back to the police station. With the help of Barry, the trio unloaded the crates and hauled them to the S.T.A.R.S. Office, where the others were waiting.

Suffice to say, Wesker and the other S.T.A.R.S. members were very pleased with the results.

Wesker casually inspected his own Samurai Edge. "Our thanks to the Kendos," he said.

Even Barry received his handgun. Unlike the others, his was heavily modified to use the same type of ammo used in his Colt Python, as well as the standard nine-millimeter rounds. "Our thanks indeed."

By this time, it was close to noon, and the S.T.A.R.S. dispersed for their lunch break. Wesker remained behind as the others went their separate ways.

Jill slipped her jacket over her shoulders as she followed Chris out the office. "You're up for lunch today," she reminded him.

"I know," Chris replied. "Emmy's?"

Jill nodded. "Sure."

As they reached the stairs, Chris stopped for a moment. After a quick search of his pockets, he turned to Jill. "Hold on. I think I forgot my keys. Give me a minute."

Jill nodded. "Fine. I'll wait for you in the lobby."

Chris then backtracked to the S.T.A.R.S. Office. Upon entering, he found Wesker inside, along with an unknown man. Chris looked at the man. He was around Wesker's age, with sandy blond hair and day-old stubble. He was dressed down in a dark green shirt and black slacks, complete with loafers. Chris noticed the ID badge hooked to his belt, the red-and-white insignia showing that he was an employee of the Umbrella Corporation. To Chris, he looked every bit of a mad scientist.

"Whoa...um...sorry for barging in, Wesker," Chris apologized as he retrieved his keys from his desk. "I forgot my keys."

Wesker waved him off. "No problem, Chris."

The man turned to Wesker. "This is the guy?" he asked. "The prodigy the R.P.D. hired?"

Wesker nodded. "That's him all right." He motioned Chris to come closer. "Come here for a moment, Chris. This is a friend of mine from college."

The man introduced himself, extending his hand. Chris shook it. "Dr. William Birkin, chief researcher for the Umbrella Corporation's labs here in Raccoon. Al's told me quite a bit about you, Chris."

Chris turned to Wesker eyebrow raised Spock-style. "'Al?'"

"A nickname between friends," Wesker explained, a rare smirk on his face. "We were rivals of sorts back in college. He was known as 'Scholar Will' and I was known as 'Practical Al.'"

"Catchy," Chris said. "Didn't know you were a science geek, Wesker."

The S.T.A.R.S. captain adjusted his shades. "It's a hobby of mine," Wesker admitted. "Will here made it into a professional career, while I majored in Criminology. He's one of the best scientists in the world."

Birkin grinned. "You give me too much credit, Al. Besides, I'm not one to boast." He turned to Chris, while still talking to Wesker. "Did you know that Chris here is a whiz in science, mathematics and physics?"

"It was in his file," Wesker replied. "Comes pretty handy in certain cases. He's pretty friendly with the forensics team here."

Birkin humphed. "It's public knowledge. Of course I know. After all, you were scouted by Umbrella upon graduating from high school, and we tried again when you left the military."

"That I already know about Chris," Wesker replied. "It's in his file."

Birkin looked at Chris, as if he was sizing him up. Then he asked Chris a question, to see whether he could answer it. "An air puck with a mass of 0.028 kg is tied to a string and allowed to revolve in a circle of radius 1.1 meters on a frictionless horizontal surface. The other end of the string passes through a hole in the center surface with a mass of 1.9 kilogram tied to it. The suspended mass remains in equilibrium while the puck revolves around the surface. The acceleration of gravity is 9.81 meters per second squared. Tell me the magnitude of the force that maintains the circular motion acting on the puck."

"Easy," Chris replied. "The weight of the suspended mass provides the central force that maintains the circular motion of the puck. Therefore, the linear speed of the puck is 27.1 meters per second."

Birkin was impressed. "That was the hardest Physics questions known to man. And you solved it under a minute. Al was right about you. Your reputation's well-earned."

"It's a talent," Chris replied. "You're here to offer me a position in Umbrella?"

Birkin shook his head. "No. I hate competition. I work better alone, unless you're my wife."

Wesker snorted. "Some things never change. Birkin here was ranting about some British aristocratic genius getting her own lab and staff," he told Chris. "That was a couple of years ago."

Birkin scoffed. "Alexia has nothing on me. The only thing she had going for her was that she was descended from one of the founding fathers of Umbrella." Turning back to Chris, he pulled out his business card and handed it to Chris. "Such a waste, a man of your caliber a police officer. Oh well. To each their own. If you ever get tired of playing cops and robbers with Al over here, look me up. I'll get you a real job."

"Thanks for the offer," Chris replied as he exited the office.

* * *

Raccoon National Bank – 10 minutes later.

Chris mentally cursed to himself as he and Jill stood in the back of the line inside Raccoon National. The ATM outside was out of order, forcing him to go inside to actually withdraw money from the bank.

Then again, he wasn't surprised, since the ATM outside was always busted. Raccoon National Bank was a bit on the slow side when it came to getting their things repaired.

"Next time, I'm going to the Bank of Colorado," Chris muttered.

"Calm down, Chris," Jill reassured him. "It could've been worse."

As it turned out, things did get worse.

"EVERYBODY DOWN ON THE GROUND! ON YOUR KNEES!"

Seven men stormed the bank. Faces covered in ski masks, dressed in camo fatigues, and each armed with pistols, shotguns, the leader armed with an M-16 carbine. He fired a burst into the air, forcing most of the customers to the ground.

"ON THE GROUND! NOW!" the leader shouted, sticking his gun into the face of the rent-a-cop, who promptly went facedown to the ground. "Forty-five seconds, guys! Move! Move! Move!"

Two of the men rushed to the tellers, demanding money, while the others went around with several bags, demanding their jewels and wallets.

"Come on, people, hand over your valuables," one of the robbers said. "You want us gone? We do too. Give it up." After pilfering most of the customers' items, the five robbers came across Chris and Jill.

Two of the men had their guns raised at the two S.T.A.R.S. members, while the other three kept their guns trained on the other hostages. "You two aren't exempt," the head robber said. "You wanna keep breathing? Then hand over the valuables."

Chris reached into his jacket pocket to pull out his wallet. "All I got are my car keys...my cellphone..." he then pulled out the wallet and flipped it open, revealing his R.P.D. badge. "... oh, and my police badge," he finished.

Before the three robbers could do anything, Chris struck, while Jill took on the other two. His combat training kicking into overdrive, Chris dropped his badge with one hand, quickly swatted the M-16's barrel out of his face, before stunning the head robber with a vicious chop to the throat, followed by a quick disarm of the other two men, knocking their guns to the floor with both hands before taking both men to the ground in less than three seconds, leaving only the head robber.

Meanwhile, the two men had turned, just in time for one of them to get a close-up of Jill's foot, before slipping into unconsciousness from the blow to the skull. As the second robber brought his gun to bear, Jill grabbed the gun's barrel, and yanked the slide off, making the gun useless to the robber.

Jill's fist was introduced to the guy's kidney's making him double over. From the corner of her eye, she spotted movement. The two robbers at the teller were now turning their attention to both herself and Chris. In an instant, Jill had her Samurai Edge out, the safety flipped off, and in quick succession, fired off two shots. The robbers went down, the nine-millimeter parabellum rounds catching them in the shoulders, effectively taking them out of the equation.

Chris, on the other hand, had already taken down two of the leader's buddies, leaving the boss standing alone. In three seconds, the head robber was on the ground, moaning in pain, holding his nose. Chris had broken it with a straight punch to the face.

Chris looked for Jill. She was still standing, her smoking Beretta in her hands. "You okay?" Chris asked.

Jill nodded. "I'm good."

Unfortunately, Jill had let her guard down at the wrong moment. The guy that Jill had dropped with the kidney shot was back on his feet. In one hand, was a Bowie knife. Jill didn't see him coming.

But Chris certainly did. And Jill was in danger.

"Jill, WATCH OUT!" Chris shouted as he shoved Jill out of the way.

Unfortunately, that left himself open to the wild knife swing that followed. Chris let out a sharp yell of pain as the knife made contact, slashing him at his side drawing blood.

Jill looked up, just in time to see her partner take the knife swipe that was meant for her. At that moment, something inside of Jill had snapped. She was more than angry.

She was pissed.

Dropping her run, she jumped to her feet, she charged at the knife-wielding criminal. Grabbing his knife hand, she crouched low and elbowed him hard in the torso. She then followed with a handless somersault, using her own momentum to flip the guy to the floor. Jill landed on her own two feet, the guy facedown on the ground, arm wrenched back in a painful joint lock, Jill's knee on his neck. The knife fell to the ground, stained with Chris's blood.

Chris, in the meantime, had saw Jill take down the robber as he held his injured side. Jill had mentioned to him that she was a peak athlete as well as being into kickboxing. This proved it.

Chris looked at Jill's face. Never in his life had he seen such hatred on her face. Eyes filled with anger, teeth clenched as she applied pressure onto the painful-looking hold, making the robber scream in pain.

'Now that's scary,' Chris thought as he retrieved his wallet from the floor.

"R.P.D.! FREEZE!"

"HANDS UP!"

Six more men stormed the bank. This time, the men were members of the R.P.D.'s S.W.A.T. Division. Heavily armored and armed with HP-5 submachine guns, they charged into the bank, only to find that all seven robbers have been neutralized, and the two R.P.D. members responsible for thwarting the robbery.

"Identify yourselves!" the S.W.A.T. officer in charge shouted.

Jill released the hold and stood up, badge in hand. Chris showed off his badge as well. "We're both R.P.D. S.T.A.R.S. Alpha Team. We got two robbers behind the tellers and my partner is injured," Jill said.

The officer in charge gave the order to his teammates to lower their weapons. Switching on his radio, he reported in. "Dispatch, this is Big Bear. Hostiles subdued at Raccoon National Bank, we got three injured, one of which is an R.P.D. officer. Send the paramedics."

"Copy that, Big Bear," the dispatch replied.

By this time, Jill was tending to Chris. "So much for lunch," Chris groused.

* * *

10 minutes later...

Squad cars and media vans were all around the bank when Captain Wesker, Barry, and Chief Irons arrived in a squad car Barry had commandeered from the R.P.D. Upon arriving at the bank, they were ambushed by a throng of reporters and journalists. Irons dealt with them, while Barry and Wesker went searching for their two subordinates.

Sure enough, they found Chris and Jill. The two partners were seated in the open end of an ambulance, Chris on a stretcher, while one of the paramedics was pressing several gauzes up against the nasty knife slash.

"You still with me, Redfield?" Jill asked.

"A little lightheaded, but I'm okay," Chris winced.

"Just relax, buddy," the medic said. "You're gonna have to get some stitches, which means you're gonna have to come to the hospital."

"I'll ride with him," Jill said. Turning to Barry and Wesker, Jill added, "I'll explain when we get to the hospital."

Wesker nodded as Barry slammed the doors closed. He banged on it twice, signaling to the driver that he could pull off.

* * *

Raccoon General Hospital, 20 minutes later.

Inside the hospital's ER, Wesker and Barry found Jill waiting outside one of the exam rooms. She was not alone, though. With her, was one of the hospital's doctors. Wesker recognized him as Raccoon Hospital's resident surgeon, George Hamilton, seeing as how the good doctor was also on call as the R.P.D.'s gunshot doctor.

Wesker knew that George was good at his job. So far, none of Raccoon's finest hasn't died...at least, not yet anyway.

George saw the blond S.T.A.R.S. commander approach, with Barry close behind. "Captain Wesker," the doctor greeted.

Wesker responded with a nod. "Dr. Hamilton. How's Chris?"

George flipped through his charts. "Officer Redfield was brought in with a rather nasty three-and-a-half-inch gash in his abdomen. He lost a bit of blood on the ride here, and is lightheaded at the moment. I cleaned and stitched up the wound, but he's going to need a couple of days to rest and recover. You should be proud, Wesker. From what Officer Valentine has told me, he has only been in S.T.A.R.S. for only two months and is already a hero."

Wesker nodded. "I'll admit that Chris has his moments. Can I see him?"

George nodded and stepped to the side. Wesker entered the room, followed by Barry and Jill.

* * *

Inside the exam room, Chris sat on the exam table, naked from the waist up. His wound was stitched and covered in gauzes and bandages, thanks to George and his assistant. He was still feeling woozy from the loss of blood, but it wasn't life-threatening, thankfully. The shirt, however, was a lost cause, and had to be thrown away.

The door opened and Jill, Wesker and Barry entered the room. "How you're feeling, Chris?" Barry asked.

"Okay," Chris replied, wincing. "They gave me some painkillers. At least they're working."

"How many stitches they put in you?" Jill asked.

"Thirty-three. I forgot how painful getting stitches can be."

"I got a call from Irons," Wesker said. "He told me everything. My congratulations to the both of you. Those robbers were wanted in Denver, Colorado Springs, Stone Ville, and Exeter for multiple bank robberies, assaults and murders. The both of you are looking at some major recommendations from the governor, mayor and from the chief." Wesker then turned to Chris. "As for you, Redfield, you're out on medical leave for the rest of the week. I'll stick you on light duty until those stitches come out. Jill you can use some time off as well."

"Thanks, Wesker," Jill said.

Wesker looked at Chris, giving him one of his usual smirks. "Try not to get injured too much in the future, Redfield," he quipped. "Otherwise, Jill may need to break in a new partner if something bad happens to you."

"I'll try not to next time," Chris replied.

* * *

After Chris received several medications for his injury, the four S.T.A.R.S. members returned to the R.P.D. By the time Chris and Jill had returned to the station house, news of their run-in with the bank robbers had became known throughout the R.P.D. hierarchy.

Holding his side, Chris and Jill were greeted with applause and cheers from their co-workers as the two exited the car and made their way from the basement to the lobby. Even Enrico and Bravo Team broke out in applause in support for their teammates as Chris and Jill walked across the lobby of the police station.

Outside at the parking garage across the street, Chris and Jill saw that someone was waiting for the both of them. Standing near Chris's truck, was a blonde woman, older than both Chris and Jill. She was clad in a womens' business suit, looking very professional. In her hand was a small tape recorder. The tag on her jacket showed that she was a reporter for the Raccoon Times.

Jill recognized her all too well. "Alyssa," she greeted.

Alyssa Ashcroft merely inclined her head. "Jill," she replied with the same courtesy. She looked at Chris. "So this is your new partner, huh?" She then introduced herself to Chris. "Alyssa Ashcroft, reporter for the Raccoon Times."

Chris grunted. "Chris Redfield. You two know each other?"

Jill nodded. "Before she took a job working for the Raccoon Times, she worked for the Stone Ville Journal. She covered Dad's trial, as well as my own. So yeah, I know her. She even did an interview on me on how to pick a lock. I knew that either you or Bertolucci would show up."

Alyssa snorted. "Please. Ben's a no-talent hack thinking he's on my level as a reporter. When I heard about the robbery and that you were involved in stopping it, it was a chance that I could not ignore. So how about it, Valentine? You give me an exclusive for old times' sake?"

"Later," Jill briskly replied. "Right now, Chris needs his rest."

"Sure. I can wait," Alyssa said as Chris got into the passenger's side, while Jill got behind the wheel. "Good work on stopping those robbers."

"Thanks," Chris said as he closed the door.

* * *

"So how are you feeling?" Jill asked as she followed Chris' directions to his home.

"I'll live, I assure you," Chris replied. "Huts like a son of a bitch. Think I prefer getting shot rather than stabbed. Least you go into shock afterwards. My place is in the Cider District. Head there."

Jill nodded. "Okay." She then paused for a moment. "Wait. Cider District. That's middle-class right there."

"Yeah," Chris admitted. "My parents left the place to me and Claire in the will. Place is paid for."

"Lucky you."

Two more minutes later, and they arrived at the Cider District.

Chris Redfield lived in a Victorian-style, two-story house in Raccoon's Cider District that was left to himself and to his sister when their parents had died. Even Jill admitted to herself that his home was very nice.

'Great,' Jill thought. 'Even now, old habits are hard to break. I'm still casing the place.'

She pulled into the driveway. Chris got out of the truck and closed the door. "Try not to wreck my truck, Valentine. I kinda like this one."

Jill made a face at him. "Whatever. Get some rest, Redfield."

Jill backed out of the driveway and drove off, leaving Chris to limp up the driveway and into his home.

'What a day,' Chris thought as he entered his home.

Snafu's Notes: So I like Murder at 1600. Sue me. Does that move Jill did on the robber look familiar to any of you? Also, the Kendo Gun Store scene in which Chris describes the Samurai Edge is in fact accurate, as I got the info from RE Wiki. Also, see if you can find the RE: Nemesis reference. And there is a RE5 and RE0 reference stuck in this chapter that is fairly obvious.

Next Chapter: Jill meets Claire. Chris meets Dick. Jill fights Chris. Chris trains Jill. A houseguest arrives at the Redfield Home.


	4. Raccoon Police File: Valentine, Jill

**JILL'S BIO**

[Jill's dossier. As with Chris, there are three photos. Photo number one is her mug shot from the Stone Ville Sheriff's Department. The second is her in Army fatigues, having completed basic training. The third photo is that in her summer R.P.D. uniform.]

**R.P.D. FILE: VALENTINE, JILLIANNE**

**Nationality:** American (French-Japanese ancestry)

**Full Name:** Jillianne Catherine Valentin (legally changed her last name to Valentine)

**Aliases:** Cate Valentin, J.C. Valentine

**Nickname:** The Mistress of Unlocking

**Date of Birth:** May 19, 1974

**Place of Birth:** Stone Ville, Colorado

**Height:** 5 feet, 8 inches

**Weight:** 111 pounds

**Hair:** Dark Brown

**Eyes:** Light Blue

**Blood Type:** B

**Family:** Richard 'Dick' Valentin, father; Miyako Watanabe, mother (deceased)

**Specialty:** Lockpicking, pickpocketing breaking and entering - cars especially, playing the piano

**Hobby:** Playing piano

**Favorite Food:** Anything with chocolate in it

**Favorite Sport:** Gymnastics - Jill is a peak athlete, Olympic level

**Most Valuable:** Pendant - memento from her late mother, her car - a classic Chevy Camaro

**Likes:** Shopping

**Dislikes:** Stone Ville County Sheriff Tom Carter, anyone who addresses her by her real name - her father is the exception, men who abuse women

**Background:**

- Age 17: Graduates from Stone Ville High School. Later is caught and arrested for numerous counts of breaking and entering. Accepts a plea deal, and enlists into the Army.

- Age 18: Attends college on the GI Bill.

- Age 19: Selected to undergo a four-week long training course with Delta Force. Receives high marks in bomb disposal and weapons training. Joins the Military Police Corps.

- Age 21: Discharged from the Army with the rank of Specialist. Accepts a job with the Raccoon Police Department in Raccoon City as a uniformed officer.

- Age 22: Graduates from Raccoon University with a degree in Criminal Justice. Later is recruited into the R.P.D. S.T.A.R.S. unit

Occupation: Formerly a thief, ex-Army Military Police, currently employed with the Raccoon Police Department - Special Tactics and Rescue Service

Jill's Background

Hotheaded, independent and temperamental, Jillianne Valentine is the only daughter of professional cat burglar Richard Valentin and his Japanese wife, Miyako Watanabe. Having lost her mother as a teenager, Jill was raised by her father. Trained by her father in the art of stealing, burglary and pickpocketing, Jill was on her way to a life of crime, when at the age of seventeen, she was arrested on numerous charges on breaking an entering, as well as car theft. Faced with being tried as an adult for her crimes, Jill, at the urging of her father, took a plea deal: four years in the military in exchange for her juvenile records being sealed, an act which earns her the ire of Stone Ville County Sheriff Thomas J. Carter, who wanted to see Jill placed in county jail.

During her four-year stint in the Army, Jill had shown extraordinary marks when it comes to combat and physical training. In her second year, her skills had drawn the attention of her superiors in the Army, who had sent her on an four-week advanced training course with the 1st Special Forces Operational Detachment (Delta Force), receiving high marks in weapons combat and bomb disposal (sadly, she was not allowed to join, as Delta Force does not allow women to join their unit - seriously). Shortly afterward, she was recruited into the Army's Military Police, thus breaking the mandatory age requirements, making herself the youngest MP in the Army's history at the age of nineteen.

During her stint in the military, Jill was dating a college athlete, who tried to sexually assault her. Fortunately, Jill had fought him off before he could rape her. Since that incident, she had trouble trusting other people, her father being the only exception. Following her discharge from the Army, Jill returned to the Midwest. Seeing as how returning to Stone Ville was out of the question given her past as a thief, Jill moved to Raccoon City to finish up her college degree at Raccoon University.

Shortly afterward, Jill was hired by the R.P.D. Her skills with computers - as well as her experience as a former thief dealing with cases involving theft - soon draws the attention of the S.T.A.R.S. commander, Captain Albert Wesker, who requested Jill's help on a difficult case. Shortly after closing the case, Jill was recruited into the S.T.A.R.S. unit. Aside from her talents as a former thief, Jill is also talented in playing the piano. She is also a peak athlete, who specializes in hand-to-hand combat. With the arrival of Chris Redfield, however, Jill now has a rival, as he was the only person who managed to best her in combat. Despite this, Jill has grown to admire and respect her partner for his strict work ethic and his responsibility in raising his sister on his own.


	5. 3: Chris's Sister and Jill's Father

**Chapter Three: Chris's Sister and Jill's Father**

A.N.: Keeping in with Capcom's tradition of modeling certain characters for their videogames from actors, I'm modeling Dick Valentin after the actor Liam Neeson. I also tossed in another RE5 reference in this chapter, as well as a Street Fighter reference. See if you can find it.

UPDATE: I'm still keeping Liam Neeson as Jill's dad. I'll figure out who to model Jill's mother later.

A day had passed since the failed robbery at Raccoon National.

Since then, Chris remained at home, resting and recuperating from his knife wound. Wesker had also given Jill the day off, which she had planned on visiting her father. Of course, her dad had heard about Jill's role in stopping the robbery and was interested in meeting her partner, which is why she was back at the Redfield home.

As Jill pulled into the driveway, she noticed that the garage door was already opened. Even more so, there was a motorcycle on the driveway – a restored 1972 Honda Cb 750. Jill parked the truck and stepped out. There was someone working on the bike. As the nearby radio was on, the person did not notice.

"Um...hello?" Jill called out.

The person looked up. Jill saw that it was a female, not much younger than she was, Jill deduced that she was at least eighteen. Her reddish-brown hair was covered up by a bandanna. Her body was covered up by a black coverall uniform. In one hand was a ratchet.

"Can I help you with something?" the girl asked. She then notice that Jill had came with her brother's truck. "Wait...you're Jill, right?"

Jill nodded. "That's right. I'm Jill Valentine."

The girl placed the ratchet back inside the toolbox. "So you're my brother's partner. He's told me a lot about you." She removed her right glove and extended her hand. Jill shook it. "I'm Claire. Claire Redfield. Nice to meet you." She looked at her brother's partner, who stood around her height. "Funny. I thought you were shorter."

Jill frowned slightly at that remark. She then looked at the motorcycle. "This is yours?"

Claire nodded, smiling, running one hand along the handlebars. "Yup. This is my baby. I love motorcycles. As a graduation gift, Chris and I restored it and he gave it to me. My brother's quite the mechanic," she said with pride in her voice. "He taught me everything I know. I'm probably the only senior in high school who rides a bike."

"Your brother's full of surprises," Jill said. "The part about him being a genius threw me for a loop when he was hired. So where's Chris?"

Claire jerked a thumb towards the house. "Mr. Killjoy is inside. I heard about what happened at the bank. Congratulations on stopping those robbers."

"Thanks. I do feel bad for Chris getting injured. He took that knife blow for me when he was protecting me."

Claire shrugged her shoulders. "That's my brother for you. Anyway, it's nice to meet you, Jill."

"Same here, Claire."

Jill left Claire with her bike and entered the house through the garage. Hearing the TV going on inside the house's den, Jill followed the sound. The den was empty for the moment, but there were signs that Chris was there. Deciding to wait, Jill turned towards the fireplace, where several photos were placed on the mantle. Curious, Jill walked over to look at the photos.

They were of the Redfield family.

There was one of Chris in his full Air Force uniform, complete with the rank of Second Lieutenant. Jill was particularly drawn to that of a family photo, taken at Chris's military college graduation. Jill looked at his parents. His father reminded her of Barry, given his massive build, while his European-born mother looked matronly in her dress. His sister looked to be about twelve at the time, flashing a V for the photo. Jill also took notice of the Navy formal officers' uniform, complete with ribbons, the rank showing that he was a Lieutenant.

(A.N.: In the military, the officers' ranks of the Navy and Coast Guard are different from that of the Army, Air Force and the Marines. The rank of Lieutenant in the Navy is the equivalent of the rank of Captain in the other three branches.)

Jill looked at the image of Chris. She remembered him telling her that his parents died when he was seventeen, meaning that this photo was taken shortly before their deaths. From the look of things, the family was a close-knit one.

Jill couldn't help but to feel a bit jealous at the family photo. Her father had been in prison when she had completed her training for the police academy, so she had no picture of him with her when she graduated. Despite being partners, to her, Chris Redfield was still an enigma. An enigma that Jill was drawn to.

Heavy footsteps from above announced the arrival of Chris Redfield, who came down the stairs. Jill turned around...

...and was greeted with the sight of Chris, naked from the waist up, running a towel through his damp hair. Jill smelled the body shampoo he used, the smell was that of soap and spice. He did have on a pair of jeans for modesty and his T-shirt was slung over one shoulder. The bandages on his side were still present. Thankfully, they were waterproof.

ill swallowed the lump in her throat. Thankfully, Chris was still drying his hair, meaning that he did not see Jill checking out his muscular frame. The muscles were well-defined, but not as big as Barry's though. She then remembered that he told her that he was a former member of an elite commando unit, and her had the battle scars to prove it (think Abel's minor scars on his upper arms and torso). Jill turned back towards the mantle, praying that the blush from her face would be gone by the time he was finished with his hair.

Chris finished drying his hair and saw Jill looking at the photos. "Morning, Jill," he greeted as he slipped the T-shirt over his head. "Claire let you in?"

Jill turned around. "Morning, Chris," she replied. "Yeah, your sister let me in. She's outside working on her bike. So you told her about me, huh? What did you tell her?"

"Only that we're partners," Chris replied as he combed his hair. "So what brings you here? Came to check up on me?"

"Yeah. That and the fact that I'm going up to Lakeview to visit my dad. I told him about you and he wants to meet you in person."

Chris thought about it for a moment. "How far is Lakeview?"

"About two hours from Raccoon. I'll pay half on gas."

"I got nothing else to do other than wait for Wesker to lift me off of light duty," Chris said. "Sure. I'll come with you. So what's he's like?"

"You'll see."

* * *

Lakeview Minimum Security Prison.

Lakeview Penitentiary was a minimum-security prison that was ninety miles away from Raccoon City. It was also the prison where Jill's father was serving a five-year sentence for grand larceny. Fortunately, he was at the tail end of his prison sentence, meaning that he would be up for parole soon.

On the ride to the prison, Jill had revealed to him that her father was originally born in Boston, the product of French parents, but spent his childhood years in Europe, mainly between Dublin and Lyon, as well as in Montreal. When he was a teenager, he returned to America and after drifting around for several years, settled down in Stone Ville, where he met Jill's mother, a Japanese woman who worked as a nurse at the Raccoon Hospital. The rest was history.

Originally, Dick was supposed to be sent to California's infamous San Quentin prison, but the judge decided to give him a break, allowing him to stay within the Colorado penal system.

At the moment, Jill and Chris were inside the prison visit room (think the prison visit room from OZ), seated at a table. Fortunately, they didn't have to wait long, as a guard opened the door and in stepped Jill's father, Dick Valentin. As with the rest of the prisoners, he was dressed in a blue prison shirt and denim jeans. He looked to be in his mid-forties, but was in good shape.

Jill stood up and embraced her father, kissing him on the cheek. "Dad."

Dick smiled broadly as he returned the embrace. "Jillianne." Father and daughter released the hug, Dick looking his daughter over. "You're looking well," he said, his voice laced with his Midwest accent.

Chris raised an eyebrow. 'Her real name is Jillianne?' he wondered.

"And you've gotten thinner," Jill replied, smiling softly.

Dick shrugged his shoulders. "Oh, you know how prison life is. It's like a holiday. Good food, good wine. That sort of thing." He turned to Chris. "And this is the man you told me about. Your new partner, right?"

Jill nodded. "That's him." She introduced Chris to her father. "Chris, my father, Richard Valentine. Dad, this is Chris Redfield."

The two men shook hands. "Mr. Valentine."

"Call me Dick," the elder Valentine said. "I dislike formalities."

"Only if you call me Chris."

Dick chuckled. Turning to Jill, he said, "I like him already. Have a seat."

Taking a seat at one of the tables, Jill and her father caught up on old times. Dick had found out about his daughter's role in thwarting the gang of bank robbers several days earlier from one of the guards, who had a relative with the R.P.D. Despite being a felon, Chris saw that Dick wasn't that bad of a person. For a thief, Dick was laid back, calm and collected. Dick even got to know Jill's partner a bit better, his impression of Chris going up several notches.

Chris then remembered that Dick had addressed Jill as Jillianne. "Your dad called you Jillianne," he said.

Jill made a face. "Jillianne's my real name. My full name is Jillianne Catherine Valentin. Well, it was until I changed my last name from _Valentin_to _Valentine._ I hate it when people call me by my full name," she explained. "Dad's the only exception."

"Jillianne is a beautiful name," Dick defended. "I named you after my late mother - your grandmother."

"I like Jill. Out of respect for you will I not change my name," Jill rebuked gently.

"That makes me feel a lot better," Dick replied. "Yet, you changed your last name."

"Only slightly." Jill rose from her seat. "Excuse me for a moment. I need to use the restroom."

Chris and Dick nodded and Jill left the visitors' lounge. "She's quite a woman, Dick," Chris admitted.

Dick nodded. "She makes me proud." His smile then faded, replaced with a more serious expression. "Chris, I need to ask you a favor."

Chris nodded. "Sure. What is it?"

"I love my daughter. More than anything. But Jillianne's too damn stubborn for her own good," Dick explained. "She doesn't allow herself to get close to certain people, because she fears they will hurt her. Growing up, she had to deal with animosity over her mixed heritage, as her mother was of Japanese ancestry."

"I know. Jill told me. Seeing as how my roots are also European, it doesn't bother me."

Dick cocked an eyebrow. "Really? Where from?"

"Grandpa was a Scottish immigrant, Mom's Dutch."

Dick nodded. "Fair enough. Anyway, she trusts me, but despite being her father, even that goes as far."

Off Chris's confused look, Dick sighed and explained.

"About two years ago, when Jillianne was in the military, she was dating a college athlete. Lacrosse player. One night, he tried to rape her, but Jillianne fought him off. Sent the bastard to the hospital with a couple of broken ribs and a shattered jaw. Made me glad she took those martial arts classes seriously. Since then, she doesn't allow herself to get close to anyone."

Chris blanched. Turns out that Jill had her own skeletons in her closet.

"But," Dick continued, "my daughter trusts you, even though she won't admit it just yet. As her father, I know. Your actions during the bank robbery showed that. She's also smiling more, and I got you to thank for that. Promise me that you will look after her. I will feel a whole lot better if she is with someone she trusts."

Chris nodded. "I give you my word, Dick. I'll keep Jill safe."

"Thank you, Chris," Dick said, relieved. "You have no idea how much this means to me." From the corner of his eye, he noticed Jill returning. "This stays between us, understand?"

Chris nodded, just as Jill returned. "So...you two been getting along?" she asked as she sat back down.

"Oh, very," Dick replied as Chris quickly covered up his previous shock. "I like him, Jillianne. He's a pretty stand-up guy. Responsible too."

Jill smiled. "He has his moments."

"Funny. Our boss said the same thing," Chris said.

Before Jill could reply to Chris' comment, one of the corrections officers stuck his head inside the visiting room. "Time's up, people. Time to go."

Dick stood up, as did Jill and Chris. "Well, it's been good seeing you again, sweetie," Dick said as he hugged his daughter.

"Same here, Dad."

To Chris, he shook his hand. "Chris. Nice meeting you."

"Same here, Dick."

* * *

On the way back to Raccoon, Chris was behind the wheel, while Jill was riding shotgun. "He likes you," Jill commented. "And he's a very difficult man to impress."

"Didn't look that way to me," Chris replied. "Besides, we Redfields are very likable."

Jill snorted. "Smartass. Your sister is more likable than you."

"Gee, Jill. I'm hurt."

"You'll get over it. So what did you and Dad talked about?"

"Said that he was glad to see that you had someone to watch your back," Chris explained. A half-truth, but it served its purpose.

Thankfully, Jill had bought the statement. "Heh. Even while in prison, he's been trying to look out for me."

"You should have met my parents," Chris replied, grinning.

* * *

The day after returning to Raccoon City, Chris and Jill were honored for their actions at Raccoon National.

The Raccoon Police Department was bustling with activity. Since the Raccoon City Hall Complex was being renovated, the ceremony took place at the Raccoon Police Department. The police station's main lobby was packed with police, the majority of them having taken up space on the second and third-floor balconies.

Inside the Briefing Room, Claire Redfield watched as her brother and her partner went through their final preparations while snapping pictures on her digital camera. While Claire was dressed in a summer dress, hair still in her customary ponytail, Chris and Jill were dressed in the formal uniform of the Raccoon Police Department. The R.P.D. formal dress uniform consisted of a navy blue suit coat, shirt and trousers, spit-shined shoes, and black necktie. The insignia of the R.P.D. was stitched onto the upper left sleeve of the jacket, their R.P.D. badges and nametags were visible over the upper left jacket pocket.

The door to the Briefing Room opened and Wesker stepped in, followed by Barry. Like Chris and Jill, the two men was dressed in the R.P.D. formal uniform, save that Wesker's shirt was white instead of navy blue.

Wesker adjusted his shades. "We're ready here?" the S.T.A.R.S. captain asked.

Jill tied her hair back into her ponytail. "Ready," she replied.

"All set," Chris replied.

Wesker nodded. Then he looked at Claire. "Who's she?"

"She's with me, Wesker," Chris replied. "Claire, my boss, Captain Albert Wesker. Wesker, my sister, Claire Redfield."

Claire smiled at Wesker. "Captain."

Wesker returned the grin. "It's just Wesker. I dislike formalities." He looked at his watch. "It's time."

"Wait! Wait!" Claire shouted. "I want a photo with all of you."

Barry looked at Wesker, who shrugged his shoulders. "Fine," the blond captain said. "Make it quick."

Claire nodded. "Chris and Jill in the middle, and Wesker and Barry on either side."

Once the four S.T.A.R.S. members were in place, Claire snapped the photo. Looking at the camera's screen, she saw that the photo came out very well. After promising them each a copy, Wesker and Barry ushered Chris and Jill out of the room, with claire picking up the rear.

* * *

The police station's main lobby was packed with police, the majority of them having taken up space on the second and third-floor balconies.

Chris and Jill stood before the fountain. Chief Irons, Captain Wesker and the other S.T.A.R.S. members were piled on the left side of the fountain, while the city council was on the right side. Also present was the mayor of Raccoon City, Michael Warren, his daughter Lily Warren, and the Lieutenant Governor of Colorado, who was there in the Governor's place due to an emergency.

Mayor Warren addressed Chris and Jill as the photographers took pictures. "Officer Christopher Redfield...Officer Jillianne Valentine...your actions during the armed robbery attempt at Raccoon National saved twenty-seven lives, and has brought the criminals who had terrorized the state of Colorado to justice. Your act of selfless heroism draws much credit upon yourselves and the Raccoon Police Department."

The Lieutenant Governor stepped forward, along with her aide. "Officer Redfield...Officer Valentine...it is with great honor that that the Governor's Office of Colorado present both of you with the highest of honors: the Colorado Medal of Valor. Congratulations."

The medals were pinned on Chris and Jill's chests, and they were presented with their certificates. Chris and Jill then took photos with Mayor Warren, the Lieutenant Governor and, Captain Wesker, Chief Irons. Finally, for posterity, Chris and Jill did a group photo with the rest of their teammates.

Alyssa got her exclusive interview, as promised by Jill. The award ceremony was front page news on the Raccoon Times the following morning. Chris and Jill were literally treated like rock stars for the following days. for Chris, the local car dealership gave him a brand-new pickup truck, free of charge (since his old truck had broken down for the last time). For Jill, the car repair shop decided to foot the bill for the car repairs. They were offered a chance to tell their story on several morning shows, but they respectfully declined the offers and went back to work.

* * *

Several days later...

After the awards ceremony, things calmed down in Raccoon City. Friday was the day that the S.T.A.R.S. reserved for physical training. Since the Raccoon Police Department lacked a workout room, despite being in a much larger facility, they would commandeer the fitness center located in downtown Raccoon City. Wesker, surprisingly, was absent, citing that he had a 'meeting' with Chief Irons, as well as meeting an 'old friend' for lunch.

While the guys trained with the various equipment in the gym, Jill Valentine was working the heavy punching bag. Dressed in a sleeveless shirt with the S.T.A.R.S. insignia on the back and a pair of blue-and-white track pants, her hair pulled back in a short ponytail, hands wrapped in boxing tape, and a pair of tennis shoes, the former thief unleashed a volley of punches, kicks, knees and elbows at the helpless punching bag.

It was a well-known fact within the Raccoon Police Department that Jillianne Valentine was quite skilled in hand-to-hand combat. She was also very aggressive when it came to fighting. In fact, with the exception of Captain Wesker (who was hardly seen at the fitness center), Enrico and Barry, Jill had fought against the men of S.T.A.R.S. in the ring and came out as the winner, not to mention some of the other men in the R.P.D. Even the teacher at the local dojo took a shot at Jill, only to lose within five minutes after the match began. It also didn't help that the guy was a sexist pig, which earned him a broken nose and clavicle when he goosed Jill.

Chris entered the workout room from the men's locker room. He was feeling a lot better following his last visit to the hospital. The stitches were finally out and Wesker had him lifted off of desk duty. Like his comrades, he was also dressed in warmup clothes, save that his were a tanktop and a pair of combat fatigues. Chris wasn't a health nut like Barry, but he kept himself in excellent shape, given the looks that some of the female patrons were giving him. With him quitting smoking, he felt even better.

Chris noticed Jill at the punching bag. After a few moments, Jill stopped pounding on the bag and noticed Chris watching her with piqued interest. She knew she had some moves on her, but so did Chris. She did felt bad that he gotten injured protecting her, that she had gotten sloppy during the bank robbery. But now the gears inside her head were turning. Chris Redfield knew how to handle himself in a fight. He had proved that back at Raccoon National. His style was professional and direct. No wasted movement, only quick, efficient strikes designed to subdue or in the most extreme of cases, to kill the enemy.

"Wesker put you off light duty?" Jill asked as she continued to pound on the bag.

Chris nodded. "He lifted it yesterday."

"You sure you shouldn't be overdoing it?" Jill asked as she landed a hook onto the heavy bag.

"I'm a lot tougher than I look," Chris replied.

"That I see," Jill said as she stopped punching the bag. "Think you can back it up?"

Chris raised one eyebrow Spock-style. Jill was challenging him to a fight. "You sure you want to test me, Valentine?" he asked.

By this time, the other male S.T.A.R.S. were watching this little exchange, and knew what Jill had planned.

"Oh, I'm sure," Jill replied.

To show that she wasn't bluffing, she threw a punch straight at Chris's head.

Without blinking, Chris's right hand snapped up and caught her fist in his hand. Suffice to say, Jill was surprised. Most guys would either cringe away or duck.

"Be careful what you wish for, Jill," Chris said, a small, it not smug grin on his face. "Normally, I don't hit women. But...since you want a shot at the title, then you got it."

He released Jill's fist and walked over to the mats. Jill followed.

The two begin to warm up with stretches. Jill was on the ground in a split, touching her toes, while Chris rotated his shoulders and cracked his neck muscles. In the meantime, the other male members of S.T.A.R.S. were watching from the sidelines with great interest.

"I don't like Chris's chances for this," Edward said, nudging Brad.

Brad scoffed. "Of course," he replied. "Jill's no pushover. The question is how bad is Chris gonna lose."

"I'll give him three minutes," Joseph said. "Three minutes before Jill puts him down. Loser pays for the drinks."

"I'll take that bet," Brad said. "I'll give him five minutes before Jill puts him down."

"Winner's choice?" Edward said. "Bar Jack or J's Bar?"

Joseph nodded.

"In that case, you're on," Edward said.

Meanwhile, Barry and Enrico were watching the two warm up with interest. "Aren't you worried about Redfield?" Enrico asked.

Barry shook his head. "Nope. Jill's good, but she has too much ego. She's pretty much complacent in her superiority in hand-to-hand combat. Chris is just going to knock her down a peg or two."

"Oh, this I got to see," Enrico said.

Meanwhile, on the mat, Chris and Jill faced off. "Sure you don't want to back out, Redfield?" Jill asked.

"I'm sure," Chris replied. "For the record, I won't hold back."

Jill smiled. "Good. Neither will I."

Both partners assumed a fighting stance. Jill assumed her usual stance (A.N.: her MvC2 stance) while Chris moved into his own stance, which was a basic boxing stance.

Jill inched her way over, while Chris held his ground. When she got within striking distance with her fists, Chris did something that no one was expecting.

He simply dropped his guard.

Not one to look a gift horse in the mouth, Jill fired off a left jab to the head. Just as he did earlier, Chris reacted as fast, only this time, he sidestepped the blow, her fist flying past his head his guard still down, the same smug grin on his face.

'He's mocking me!' Jill thought. 'I'll show him!'

This time, Jill came in with a combination of punches - left jab, right jab, right haymaker, uppercut, cross, backhand all of which Chris simply dodged. Chris' expression changed to that of being serious and responded by throwing out several jabs of his own - two with his left hand, a third from his right, followed by several forearms. Only Jill couldn't just dodge the way Chris had done. She was forced to block the incoming strikes, stumbling as she used both arms to block Chris' forearm to the face.

The momentum went back and forth as the S.T.A.R.S. members watched the little brawl unfold, the two fighters feeling the other out.

Jill landed the first blow, introducing her foot into Chris's stomach, causing him to take several steps back. Chris recovered just in time to block Jill's kick to the side of his head, but that was just a mere feint.

Jill rushed in grabbed him and began to drive her knee into Chris's torso. Once, twice, three times, before throwing him to the mat. Chris landed hard on his side, but recovered just in time to knock Jill of her feet with a reverse sweep.

The feisty brunette managed to get to one knee, just in time to see Chris's fist on a collision course with her chin.

**KA-POW!**

The force of the uppercut had sent Jill into the air. She landed on her back, stunned.

On the sidelines, with the exception of Barry, the men winced at the impact. Even more so, they were surprised to see Chris hold his own.

Jill, in the meantime, was busy shaking the cobwebs out of her head. 'Crap. He said he wasn't going to hold back,' she thought as she got back to a vertical base. 'Okay, Valentine, the kid gloves come off.'

Chris in the meantime, remained on his guard. Smiling that same smile he gave her the first day they met, he beckoned to her with one finger before returning back to his original stance.

Jill rolled forward, quickly closing in the distance between the both of them. Once again, Chris sidestepped Jill's punches and fired back several of his own. Jill responded with a backhand that connected, snapping Chris's head to the side, followed by a roundhouse that brought Chris spinning down to the mat.

'Shit, she hits hard for a woman,' Chris thought as he rolled out of the way, just as Jill dove at him knees-first. Jill's knees missed the spot where Chris's torso had been moments earlier. Back-flipping out of the move, she went on the attack, only to have Chris close in on her location.

Chris swatted Jill's kick aside and threw several punches aimed at her head, forcing Jill to block the incoming blows. The Rolling Sobat to the head was something that Jill wasn't expecting, Chris hopping into the air, spinning, his left leg outstretched. She managed to block Chris's attack, but it caused her to drop to one knee from the impact, allowing Chris to plant his foot in Jill's chin, knocking her back once again.

Chris moved in to finish the match, only to be caught by a solid punch to the solar plexus, which left him gasping for air. Jill then kicked Chris right in the shin with her left foot, which caused him to stumble, which followed by the shorter woman spinning around to kick Chris with her right foot. Then, showing off her leg strength, Jill lifted Chris clean off the ground, right foot still embedded in his torso, twisting her body so that she was doing a perfect vertical split with Chris still hanging from her extended leg before flinging him to the mat, the older man falling to the ground in a heap.

Jill thought she had the match won. Instead, much to her surprise (and even though she would not admit it to anyone else, admiration), Chris got back to his feet.

"That really hurt," Chris said as he rubbed his neck.

On the sidelines, Chris and Jill's teammates were very impressed with the way Chris was holding his own. Any other man would have been knocked out by that move, but Chris was still standing.

Chris then shifted stances, his right was held closer to his face, the hand not clenched into a fist, but rather open, palm facing downward, which could attack or defend at a moment's notice, while his left arm was extended, bending slightly at the elbow, the hand also open. (A.N.: think the stance K' uses in King of Fighters) Eyes focused, adrenaline pumping through his veins, he began to advance on Jill, who was immediately on her guard.

'What's he doing? What does he have planned now?' Jill thought as she went back into her own stance.

Once Jill closed the distance, she hopped into the air, spinning, one leg outstretched, only to hit nothing but air. Chris had ducked underneath the blow. Jill threw another punch at his head, only to have Chris swat it to the side as he moved in. He quickly responded with two punches to the torso, followed by a quick uppercut and a overhead elbow to the face. Grabbing Jill, he forced the air out of her lungs by introducing his own knee to her torso before flipping her to the mat.

Jill quickly hopped back to her feet. 'Why won't this guy stay down?!' she thought. 'And I thought that Air Force guys were wusses when it came to hand-to-hand!'

Jill decided to end this match. With a yell, she lunged forward, unleashing a volley of kicks. Snap kicks, high kicks, low kicks, even a roundhouse kick, forcing Chris to block and parry the incoming blows.

Which is what Jill wanted. Chris went for a backhand, only to see Jill catch his wrist before going low, elbowing him hard in his chest. With Chris stunned, Jill went into her handless somersault, intending on using her momentum to send Chris to the floor.

Imagine her shock when she realized that when she landed, Chris was on his feet instead of face down on the mat. When Jill went into her somersault, Chris immediately recognized the move from the bank days earlier. Acting on a hunch, as Jill somersaulted, Chris rolled along the mat, which had the effect of messing up Jill's move.

"Whoa!" Jill managed to say before Chris tossed her over his hip, causing her to land on her rear.

She felt one hand being twisted behind her back. When she tried to use her free arm to elbow Chris, he too immobilized that arm, leaving Jill effectively helpless. The arm bars weren't quite painful, but Chris had a firm grip on Jill.

"Don't try and break free," Chris warned. "Otherwise you will end up breaking both your arms if you try." He sounded serious, as Jill noticed, rather than being cocky. "It's over, Valentine. Do you yield?"

Jill tried to struggle, but it was no use. Chris clearly had her dead to rights.

"Okay," Jill conceded. "You win."

Chris nodded and released Jill's arms before standing up. He extended one hand to the feisty brunette. Jill, surprised at this show of sportsmanship, accepted his hand and allowed him to help her to his feet.

"Not bad, Valentine," Chris complimented. "Not bad at all."

Meanwhile, on the sidelines, shock was the dominant expression on the male S.T.A.R.S. members' faces, with the exception of Barry. Jill Valentine had lost her first match. There was more to her partner than it meets the eye.

"Holy shit," Forest said. "She lost. Valentine lost."

"So much for drinks," Joseph muttered.

Barry simply chuckled as Enrico closed his jaw, shocked as well that the R.P.D.'s top fighter had lost.

* * *

Later on, as the clamor of the match died down and the other male S.T.A.R.S. members resumed their workout, Chris and Jill were on the sidelines, each holding icepacks on their assorted bruises.

"Ow," Jill winced as she held her icepack on the back of her neck. "I thought you were joking when you said that you were not going to hold back."

Chris kept his icepack on his jaw. "Actually...I did held back."

Jill dropped her ice pack and turned to her partner. "What?"

Chris shrugged his shoulders. "I had to. The way I was taught how to fight, I was trained to disarm, maim, and in some cases, even kill. And I think Wesker and the R.P.D. would look down on me sending you to the hospital."

Jill's anger evaporated. "Oh. Either way, I feel a lot better about losing. Most guys didn't take me seriously. You did. You could have knocked me out, but you didn't. Why?"

"That would have been the easy way out," Chris explained. "So I went for a submission hold instead. When you tried that same trick on me that you did on the robber, I guessed that you used your momentum to your advantage. So I simply reversed it."

Jill was wondering how he managed to get out of that move. She chuckled softly and shook her head. "Unbelievable."

Despite having lost the fight, Jill didn't feel too bad about it. Instead, she had developed a newfound respect for her partner...despite the pain in her jaw.

"You're good at keeping the opponent on their toes," Chris pointed out, "but your weakness is when the opponent get in close."

Jill frowned. As much as she hated to admit it, Chris was right. "And what exactly do you plan on doing about it?" she asked.

"If you want, I can train you in close-quarters combat," Chris proposed.

Jill thought about it for a moment. Chris's offer did have some merit. And her kickboxing and her throws could only take her so far. "Okay, Redfield. I'll take you up on your offer. When do we start?"

"Since we got tomorrow off, how about then?" Chris proposed.

"If you're as bad as a teacher as I am a student, then you're in luck," Jill said.

Chris shrugged his shoulders. "Claire's not complaining. I taught her how to hold her own."

"Gee. That makes me feel a whole lot better. What time do you want to begin?"

"Noon. I'll train you for three hours here? You game?"

Jill nodded. "Game on, Redfield."

* * *

The following day, at noon...

Jill had wondered what she had gotten herself into when she agreed to let Chris train her in combat. But here she was, back at the the workout center, clad in a pair of workout clothes – a sleeveless white shirt with the R.P.D. insignia on the back, a pair of blue track pants, and her old pair of workout shoes.

Chris was dressed in a T-shirt and an old pair of combat fatigues. He was stretching, while Jill was on the mat, legs stretched out in a perfect split. Resting nearby, was a dummy handgun and a dummy knife.

"I can handle myself in a fight, Chris," Jill insisted as she stood back up. "Remind me why am I doing this?"

"I know you can," Chris replied as he picked up the fake handgun. "But a little extra training won't hurt. Besides, I thought Jill Valentine did not back down from a challenge. Was I wrong?"

Jill puffed at that. She was very competitive, a total battle athlete. While she respected Chris for his professionalism and his dedication to the job, as well as the responsibility in raising Claire on his own she also saw him as a rival of sorts. That and he also knew how to 'motivate' her by pushing the right buttons.

"Damn right you're wrong," the former thief barked out. "Give me your best shot."

"Good," Chris said as he tossed the fake gun at Jill, who caught it with one hand. Taking several steps forward so that he was within range, Chris stopped. "Okay. Now draw."

Jill did as she was told. She brought the gun up quick, aiming it at Chris's chest. Before she knew what had happened, Chris had both her arms locked up with one hand, and his other in a firm grip on her throat.

At least Jill was still able to breathe. "What the...?!"

"Pretty cool, huh?" Chris said as he released his hold on Jill. "Thought you might like that. Not only it nullifies the opponent's chance of getting off a shot, but it also stops them from trying to attack you. Alright. Give me the gun," Chris said. Once he had the gun, Chris began to show Jill the steps on how to disarm the opponent.

"Okay, so here is how the hold works," Chris said as he raised the dummy pistol. "First thing you do is sidestep out of the way. Right hand on my gun hand, push it downward and hold. That will neutralize my line of fire. Then take your left hand and twist my left arm around my right elbow, that'll break the hold on my gun hand. Left hand on my throat. Got it?"

Jill nodded. "I got it."

"Okay, ready...and GO!" Chris shouted as he aimed his gun at Jill, who performed the hold flawlessly, ending with her hand clamped down on Chris' throat. Suffice to say, Jill was a fast learner.

"Like this?" Jill asked, a smug grin on her face.

"Like that," Chris replied. "See how locked up I am? Doesn't matter how big the other person is, once you got them like this, you got them at your mercy. Now some folks like to be creative after they subdue the gunman. Me, personally, I usually slam them to the ground. But like some folks like to improv."

"Okay...how about this?" Jill said as she twisted Chris' arm, moving so that his arm was behind her before arching her body downward, her leg rising upward, kicking Chris in the back of his head, before going back into a vertical base and slamming her fist into his solar plexus. The impact sent Chris staggering back several steps, the wind knocked out of him.

Jill had held back from causing serious injury to Chris, but she had enough power in the strike to make sure that it sure as hell stung.

"Nice moves, Valentine," Chris commented as he stood upright. "You're learning."

Jill smiled from the praise. Maybe this extra training would be good after all.

Over the next two hours, Chris and Jill played the role of teacher and student. For Chris, he was pleased in seeing Jill take in the training with gusto. Not even Claire was this enthusiastic when he taught her self-defense. Plus, she could incorporate what she was being trained in with her kickboxing, making her even more dangerous.

* * *

After two hours, they decided to take a break.

"Funny how we've been partners for a while and you still haven't told me about your parents. I told you about mine. I even let you meet my dad," Jill said as she took a sip from her bottled water.

"If they were alive, they would definitely like you," Chris replied. "What do you want to know about them?"

"Surprise me. I'll bet your old man taught you how to fight."

Chris chuckled. "Fifty points, Valentine. You won a prize. It's true. Dad was the brawn. Mom was the brains. What was said in my dossier was true. Dad's grandparents were originally from Scotland. They emigrated to the States and settled in Montpelier. Dad was the more adventurous type. He joined the Navy, spent most of his time on an aircraft carrier, hopping all over the world. It while he was on leave, that he decided to tag along with some friends to Amsterdam."

"That's right," Jill butted in. "Your mom was Dutch. That's where they met, right?"

Chris grinned. "Yup. She was studying to be a nurse when she met Dad. She was twenty-three, he was twenty-nine. Guess the feeling was mutual. She completed her training, then came to America to be with him. They got married in a quiet ceremony, then moved into base housing in Norfolk. I was at least five years old when Dad's tour was up and he and Mom decided to move to Raccoon City. She got a job working as a nurse, while he joined the R.P.D."

"Let me guess...your dad and Barry were friends, right?" Jill said.

Chris nodded. "That's how I got the job working for S.T.A.R.S. Amazing how family connections can work for you. Barry was a bit green back then. If you'd ask around, anyone could tell you that Lawrence Redfield was a maverick, but when it came down to it, there was no one better to have in your corner." A sardonic smile spread across his lips. "He was always such a hard-ass, believing in tough love, but he taught me how to stand on my two feet, and how to defend myself. Had to, since I was the only 13-year-old in high school. He trained me in close-quarters-combat and Krav Maga."

"I thought that style looked familiar," Jill said. "Disarm the opponent, do as much damage possible, then escape. You're training me in that style?"

Chris nodded. "That and a bit of close-quarters-combat. Dad learned the style while he was in the Navy. He told me that the guy who trained him claimed that he knew the founder of the style."

"And your mother?"

"She was the brains of the family, as you already know," Chris continued. "While Dad taught me how to fight, she taught me how to think. She was kind, elegant, and beautiful, but oh, man never piss her off. Smart as hell, too. Could speak several languages, which she taught to both Claire and myself." He chuckled. "One thing you learn first about foreign languages is how to curse someone out. When they found out that I was a prodigy, she took over my education during the summer."

"So what can you speak?"

"Dutch, French, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, a little Japanese and Korean and German," Chris ticked off his fingers.

Jill chuckled. Given her mixed heritage, she could speak both French and Japanese comfortably, and kept in practice.

Chris then quoted his mother, adopting her Dutch accent before switching back. "'Always keep your mind sharp. Never stop learning,' she would always say. Pretty handy for when you travel as much as I had." Chris rose to his feet. "So...ready for more?"

Jill nodded. She was definitely getting into this training.

* * *

Redfield Home, Cider District – sometime later.

Claire was inside the den, going over her study material, preparing for her senior finals when Chris trudged in, dropping his sports bag to the floor before plopping down on the armchair.

"Tough day at the gym?" Claire asked, not looking up from her notes. "So how did it go?"

She knew about her brother's intentions to train Jill. From the look of things, Jill had taken great interest as to what Chris had taught her. Claire herself knew that her brother's training methods were pretty effective, since Chris himself had taught Claire how to defend herself.

"Take a wild guess," Chris said as he opened a fresh bottle of water and took a sip.

Claire glanced at her brother. "Judging how you can't seem to move without flinching, I'd have to say that she enjoys it pretty well." She grinned. "I like her even more. Not only is she learning from the best of the best, she gets to kick your ass. It's a win-win."

"Gee, thanks for the vote of confidence," the elder sibling muttered. "So, honestly, what do you think of Jill?"

In the days following the robbery, Claire had gotten to know the former thief-turned-R.P.D. officer. On the weekend, she even hung around the R.P.D., allowing her and Jill to have several chats together, whenever Claire wasn't at the motor pool getting pointers from the mechanics or at the firing range with her brother.

Suffice to say, Claire liked the woman. "Honestly, I think she's pretty nice. A bit aggressive, but nice."

Claire had prided herself on being a good judge of character. It was a trait that she had picked up from their late mother. Of course, there was Chris' ex-fiancée, but that was during the tail end of Chris' Air Force career.

"So is it true what they say about her at the police station?" Claire prodded. "That she used to be a thief?"

Chris nodded. "Yup. Back in Stone Ville. Her specialty was breaking into cars. Her dad was more into breaking into houses. You know me, Claire. I don't look at a person's past."

"I know," Claire butted in. "It's their character and toughness as a person you see inside. So what do you think about Captain Wesker?"

"Wesker?" Chris thought about that for a moment. "On one hand, he is my boss. On the other...my gut tells me that he has something to hide."

Little did Chris know was that he would soon be right.

* * *

Raccoon City, nighttime.

It was three-thirty in the morning and Chris Redfield was fast asleep. Of course, no one could tell since the duvet had covered his entire body. Claire was also asleep, snoring gently from inside her room.

RING...RING...

Out of the jumble of covers, a masculine hand reached out from the bed. After several attempts, the hand managed to grab the cellphone and brought it back into the covers.

"Yeah, Redfield, here," Chris mumbled, still half-sleep, and slightly pissed that he was brought out of a rather nice dream of a certain short-haired, blue-eyed woman seated in front of a Stetson piano, wearing only a tanktop and a pair of panties idly playing 'Greensleeves.'

"Chris? It's me."

Chris slowly rose to a sitting position. He looked at the alarm clock on the nightstand. "Jill?" he grumbled. "It's three-thirty in the morning."

"I know, and I wouldn't call you if it wasn't important, but I got nowhere else to go," Jill replied.

That caught Chris's attention. "What happened?"

"My apartment building caught fire. Half of my floor is gutted, including most of my place. I managed to save most of my clothes and other items," Jill explained.

"Okay, give me a moment," Chris said. "I'll be there in five minutes."

"Thanks, Chris. I owe you one."

* * *

Five minutes later, Chris pulled up as close he can to Jill's apartment building. Sure enough, the Raccoon Police Department, as well as the Raccoon Fire Department were present, as well as several reporters who were covering the story on scene.

Chris looked at the old brick building. The top three floors were gutted as the Raccoon Fire Department worked to get the blaze under control.

"Hey! Chris!"

Chris turned to the source of the voice. Sure enough, it was Jill. Two garbage bags were at her feet, along with a gym bag and a knapsack - items and clothing she had managed to salvage once the fire department had cleared her to return.

Flashing his badge to the police officers, Chris was allowed access.

"Thanks for coming, Chris," Jill said, a grateful look on her face.

Chris yawned. "Don't mention it," he groused playfully. "I don't mind being woke up at three in the morning because some idiot barbecued your building." He looked at Jill's belongings. "This is it?"

Jill nodded. "Yeah. The rest was too damaged to take along. It's mostly clothes and some personal stuff."

Chris picked up the two garbage bags while Jill retrieved her gym bag and knapsack. After placing them in the truck's bed, Chris and Jill were off.

* * *

Redfield Home.

After returning home, Chris had showed Jill the guest room, which consisted of a king-sized bed, a dresser and nightstand, as well as a walk-in closet. Once Jill was taken care of, Chris excused himself and returned to his room. Suffice to say, he was out like a light when he fell to his bed.

Jill was still awake. She felt a little tired, but was still alert. So Jill decided to do a little exploring. Old habits were hard to break. Besides, looking around was harmless, as she had stopped being a thief a long time ago. One thing her father had told her was that you can see a person's character by checking out their house.

Stepping out into the hallway on soundless feet, Jill could hear the gentle snoring of Chris' younger sister from her room. She walked down the hall and down the stairs, where she found herself in the den.

There was a study that Jill had passed, so she decided to check that out. The door was unlocked, so Jill opened the door and stepped inside. The study was big. Not as big as Chief Irons' office – and without those stuffed animals he loves so much – but very homely. A bookshelf was behind the desk, its three shelves loaded with books and stacked magazines.

Jill walked over to the bookshelf and inspected the contents. 'Hmm...,' she thought as she trailed a finger across the books. 'The Art of War by Sun Tzu...The Prince by Niccolo Machiavelli...military tactics by Halsey...Puller...Patton...a couple of Stephen King novels...some Tom Clancy books...books on advanced physics and science...books on several languages..'

She reached out and pulled out a comic book. Jill smiled. 'He's a comic book collector,' she thought as she placed the book back on the shelf. Jill also saw several gun and knives magazines. 'That's right. He's also a knife aficionado,' she added as an afterthought.

Several pictures were on the desk, aside from Chris' laptop. Jill looked at the pictures. One was of a teenage Chris and a younger Claire. Another photo was that of Chris' parents on their wedding day. One photo of Chris and Claire made her laugh. It was a Halloween photo. Chris was dressed as a sailor, while his four-year-old sister was dressed as a princess. Chris' dad was dressed up as Indiana Jones while his mom was dressed as Marion Ravenwood.

'Cute,' Jill thought.

By this time, the adrenaline in her system was replaced with fatigue. Jill looked at her watch. It was almost 4:30. At least she and Chris had the day off, so she could sleep in.

The former thief exited the study, walked back upstairs and into her room. Changing into a oversized T-shirt and a pair of shorts, Jill climbed into the bed. 'Hey...even the mattress is soft,' she thought. 'I could definitely get used to this. Feels a lot more softer than my bed.'

With that final thought, Jill fell fast asleep.

A.N.: Saw the second RE5 reference? Remember in the cutscene titled Two on Two, Jill catches Chris in a nasty chokehold. Sheva tries to intervene, only to be bushwhacked by Wesker. I'm not saying anything about the SF reference. This will be the last chapter until the new year, as I have to look over the other chapters to this fanfic.

Next Chapter: Claire vs Forest...in a marksman contest. Chris has a run-in with his ex-fiancee. Jill has to deal with an overzealous Sheriff.


	6. 4: Shadows

_**Chapter Four: Shadows**_

Several hours later...

Yawning, Claire Redfield stumbled out of her bedroom, and shambled towards the bathroom, a change of clothes and various toiletries in one hand. Minutes later, she emerged from the bathroom, fresh from her shower, dressed in casual clothes. As she pulled her hair back into her ponytail, she saw that the door to the guest room was open.

Chris was still in bed, so that left Claire with only one conclusion. Someone was inside.

Frowning slightly, Claire made her way towards the room. Peeking inside, she saw Jill unpacking several articles of clothing and placing them in one of the drawers.

"Are you gonna stare at me all day, Claire?"

Claire let out a small 'eep' as she realized that Jill knew that she was standing there as she continued to unpack her clothes. How in the hell did Jill know that she was standing there?

Jill turned to face the younger Redfield, a small smile on her face as she savored the shocked look on the teenage girl. "You learn how to pick up certain sounds when you're a thief. Something that my dad taught me. And since there's only two people in this house, not counting myself, and your brother is still fast asleep, you were the only other choice."

"So what Chris told me about you was true," Claire replied as she entered the room.

Jill nodded. "Yup. One of the best Not as good as my old man, though. He was mostly into houses, while I broke into cars. But I got arrested and the judge gave me a choice: jail or join the military. So I did a stint in the Army. After I got out, the R.P.D. hired me."

Claire leaned up against the dresser. "So what are you doing here?"

"My apartment building caught fire," Jill explained as she continued to unpack. "Chris is allowing me to stay here for the moment."

"Oh. Then again, I'm not surprised at Chris's decision," Claire said. "He always believed that the highest degree of duty was service towards others. Something that our dad taught us."

"Sounds like a smart man, your dad," Jill replied. She then gestured to a small red chamois cloth on the dresser next to Claire. "Can you hand me that, please?"

Claire nodded and picked the item up. Her curiosity was piqued when she heard metal jingling. "What's this?" she asked.

"My old lockpick set," Jill replied. "Dad gave them to me," she explained as Claire carefully unwrapped the cloth, revealing several pieces of thin metal. An idea came to her head. "Want me to teach you how to pick a lock?"

Claire thought about it for a moment. "Come to think of it, there is a locked drawer in my room. I kinda lost the key several days ago."

Jill smiled. "Show me."

* * *

The master bedroom door opened and out stepped Chris Redfield. Despite the stubble on his lower jaw and chin, he was clean and fresh from his shower.

Cracking his neck muscles, he decided to check in on his new roommate. Looking inside the bedroom, he saw that it was empty.

"Okay, now stick the second piece inside the hole."

Jill's voice came from Claire's bedroom. Curious, Chris inched his way towards his sister's bedroom, the custom made sign which read '**CLAIRE'S LOVELY SUITE – KEEP OUT – THAT MEANS YOU**' hanged from the door.

Peeking inside, Chris watched as Claire was on her knees, kneeling in front of her locked drawer, while Jill stood behind and over Claire. Chris noticed what Jill had on – a black midriff shirt which revealed her toned stomach, denim jeans and a pair of tennis shoes. Of course, Jill had her back turned. Chris noticed that Jill had a tattoo that was partially visible on the small of her back. From the look of things, to Chris, it appeared to be of a tribal-esque phoenix.

"Okay, Claire, that's the sweet spot," Jill explained. "Now turn."

Claire did as she was told.

**CLICK.**

Sure enough, the drawer unlocked. "Hey! It worked!" she exclaimed, pulling out her drawer.

Chris then decided to make his presence known. "What's this? The next best thing in female bonding?"

Jill and Claire turned around.

"Wesker's called for a meeting, both Alpha and Bravo teams," Chris announced. "We're leaving in five minutes."

"Mind if I come?" Claire asked.

Chris shrugged his shoulders. "I don't mind. Five minutes."

After leaving, Jill turned to Claire. "Five minutes?"

Claire shrugged her shoulders. "He's very practical when it comes to arriving on time. Oh, here's your lockpick back."

Jill looked at the small piece of metal in Claire's hand. "Keep it. May come in handy someday. Pretty useful for picking simple locks. Then again, you can use just about anything to pick a lock. Paper clips, even a screwdriver and a bobby pin."

Claire beamed. "Thanks."

* * *

Raccoon Police Department, later on...

The meeting was pretty straightforward. Apparently, the R.P.D. had been backed up on both paperwork and having able-bodied investigators working. Despite the S.T.A.R.S. helping out as best as they can, Chief Irons had decided that all of S.T.A.R.S. would work twelve-hour shifts for the month, five days a week, while Alpha and Bravo would rotate working the eight-hour graveyard shift on weekends. Wesker was the one who had to give his subordinates the bad news.

As the S.T.A.R.S. grumbled about the new schedule, Claire was upstairs in the S.T.A.R.S. Office, seated at Chris's desk, going through her study guide for her final exams.

Five minutes later, Captain Wesker entered the room, followed by Chris, Jill, Forest, and Barry.

"I still say this stinks to high heaven," Jill said.

"Your discord is duly noted, Jill," Wesker replied. "But my hands are tied. Just as you have to answer to me, I have to answer to Irons." He then caught sight of Claire seated at Chris' desk, reading a book on Physics, while scribbling down some notes. "You brought your sister along?"

Chris nodded. "She wanted to tag along," he admitted. "She's friends with one of the mechanics down at the motor pool, but since Kelly's out sick, she's decided to work on her study guide for her finals."

Wesker nodded in understanding. "Ah. That's right. You're graduating from high school this year."

Claire nodded. "Yup. Then it's off to college for me."

The S.T.A.R.S. commander nodded in agreement. "That's good. Expand your horizons. Any idea as to what you will be majoring in?"

"Not at the moment. I'll probably figure that part out when I graduate in a couple of weeks."

Wesker decided to change the subject. "I heard you had some trouble at your apartment building, Valentine. Everything all right?"

Jill nodded. "Yeah. There was a fire. Several of the apartments on my floor were gutted. Mine partially. No one was hurt, thankfully. Chris is letting me stay in a spare bedroom at his place until I can get on my feet."

Forest was about to say a snide remark about Chris allowing Jill to stay at his home, but a glare from Barry silenced him. Forest decided to change the subject. "Well, since you're still here, Redfield, you owe me a match on the firing range."

"Didn't I beat you the last time?" Chris asked assuming a thoughtful pose.

"You only won because of those female traffic cops distracting me!"

At the moment, both Chris and Forest had two wins apiece. "Your fault, not mine. When you're firing off a gun, can't let no one or nothing distract you. That's how you get killed."

"Or...maybe you don't want to lose in front of your sister," Forest said, trying to provoke Chris into accepting his challenge.

"Are you joking? My sister can kick your ass..." Chris replied, pulling out three $100 bills and placing them on the desk. "And I got three hundred down that says she can."

Claire, in the meantime, was looking at Chris as if he had grown a second head. Claire was even more surprised to see Enrico Marini, who had just walked in on Chris' proclamation, along with Brad, Kenneth and Edward, place three more $100 bills on top of Chris's cash.

"I'll take that bet," the commander of Bravo Team replied. "We'll meet you on the firing range in five minutes." He turned to Forest. "And you better win."

* * *

R.P.D. Firing Range, minutes later.

Chris arrived with Claire and Jill. Forest, Enrico and the rest of S.T.A.R.S. were waiting, Wesker included.

"Thought you chickened out," Forest said, arms folded.

"Hardly," Chris replied. "We Redfields never back down from a challenge. You can walk out of here with your pride intact, Speyer."

"Foreget it," Forest shot back. "Your cash is paying for the beers tonight."

"I'll take that as a no," Chris said. "You can go first."

The paper target was already in position. With a flourish, Forest brandished his Beretta and fired on the paper target. After unloading his clip, he brought the target back to the front. Ten of the rounds were in the chest area, while the remainder were in the head.

Forest smirked as he holstered his Beretta. "Your turn."

Chris turned to Claire. He pulled out his Beretta and handed it to his sister. "Try not to kick his ass too bad, Claire," he said as Jill loaded a fresh paper target and sent it back to its primary position.

Claire shrugged her shoulders. "Can't make you no guarantees about that," she replied as she flipped off the safety.

"It's my money," Chris shot back.

"Do I get a cut since you got me doing this?" Claire asked.

"Half."

"Deal," Claire agreed.

Claire raised the Beretta into a basic firing position, and unloaded the entire clip into the target. When the target was brought back, there was nothing but holes in the head area. Sure enough, the S.T.A.R.S. team - Jill included - was shocked. Even the normally aloof Wesker removed his shades to get a better look at the paper target. Chris was savoring this moment to the fullest. Seeing the normally cool S.T.A.R.S. commander shocked was a moment to remember.

Then the S.T.A.R.S. members – save for Chris, who had a huge shit-eating grin on his face – turned to Claire. "What?" she said as she handed Chris back his gun. "Chris always told me to go for the head."

"You taught your sister how to shoot?" Barry asked, just as flabbergasted as his co-workers.

Chris nodded as he loaded another clip and holstered his gun. "Sure did. How to shoot, how to fight. Can't be around forever. Got to make sure that she can defend herself."

Forest, on the other hand, clearly had a 'what-the-fuck' look on his face. He just lost to a high school senior.

Enrico, on the other hand, was furious. He had just lost three hundred bucks to Chris.

Wesker placed his shades back over his eyes, quickly getting over his shock. "Maybe you're better off joining the R.P.D., dear heart," he said to Claire. "Sure you don't want to join up?"

Claire shook her head. "My brother's a cop. That's enough for me."

Chris, in the meantime, had retrieved his winnings from Edward, who was holding the cash for safekeeping. He was also true to his word, handing over half to Claire, who accepted the cash with a grin.

* * *

On the way home, Chris was behind the wheel, Jill was riding shotgun and Claire was in the backseat. Jill was at the moment, laughing her ass off.

"Oh, my God. Did you see the look on Wesker's face?" Jill had managed to say through her giggling fit. "That was so priceless!"

Chris' grin had not left his face since leaving the station. "That was definitely a sight to see. Forest Speyer got his ass kicked by a schoolgirl. The guys will not let him live this down."

"I gotta admit. You're a pretty good shot," Jill said.

Claire smiled. "I had a good teacher. I was sixteen when he taught me. He would take me down to the firing range back on the base and showed me the basics."

"She's a natural when it comes to firearms," Chris explained with pride in his voice. "So every once in a while, I take her to the range and fire off a couple of rounds. Keeps her in shape. I tried to convince her to go into the military when she graduated, but she refused. She said she wanted to go to college, so I decided to drop the issue."

Jill resumed her giggling fit. "Oh, God. Your sister kicked Forest's ass...that's so fucking hilarious..."

Jill didn't stop laughing until she reached the Redfield home.

* * *

Redfield Home, two weeks later...

The two-story Victorian-style home that sat in a cul-de-sac in the middle-class Cider District was bustling with activity.

Chris Redfield finished tying his black-and-red striped necktie into a Windsor knot, before adjusting it under his collar. He retrieved his suit jacket and slipped it on before checking out his reflection in the mirror. The elder Redfield was dressed in a business suit; black jacket and slacks, white shirt, striped tie, and black shoes. His face was clean-shaven, his hair neatly combed.

He exited the room, just as Jill stepped out of her own room. Like Chris, she too was dressed up, only she was dressed a pantsuit; dark blue short jacket and slacks, white blouse, and boots (think Mature's Elle Driver-inspired getup from the new KOF), which brought her up close to Chris' height. Her short hair was for once not tied back. Chris also noticed that she wasn't wearing any makeup, which to him, enhanced her beauty.

After looking each other over, Jill broke the ice. "You clean up good, Redfield," she commented.

"So do you," Chris replied. Walking down to his sister's room, he knocked on the door. "Claire! You ready?"

Seconds later, the door opened and out stepped Claire. Dressed in a blouse and knee-length skirt, she had on a pair of tennis shoes while holding a pair of high heels in one hand, while the other held a red graduation robe and cap, the red-and-black tassel with the number '97' stuck to it, the yellow valedictorian ribbon over her shoulders.

"Right here," the younger Redfield replied. "It's just my high school graduation."

"Good. You're ready," Chris said. "Let's go, before the good parking spaces are taken."

Claire and Jill both exchanged a glance before following Chris down the hall.

West Raccoon High School - two hours later.

The gymnasium was packed as the graduation ceremony took place. A recording of 'The Graduation March' was played on the speakers while assisstant principal read off the names, while the principal handed the graduating seniors their diplomas as they passed on the stage.

The graduation ceremony had lasted for two hours. The local populace had recognized Chris and Jill from their actions at the bank and for most purposes, kept a respectable distance. The gathered audience sat on the bleachers, while the senior class was on the gym floor.

"Bonnie Siobhan Morrison...Victoria Alexandra Oliver...Thomas Alexander Peterson...Jacob Silas Quentin..."

Chris and Jill sat in the audience, the former holding a digital camera in his hand, while Jill was looking through the program.

"...our valedictorian for the Class of 1997, Claire Anne-Marie Redfield..."

A beaming Claire Redfield, in her graduation gown and cap, graciously accepted her high school diploma from the principal, to the cheers of Chris and Jill, Chris snapping pictures of Claire.

As it turned out, Claire was the valedictorian of the senior class, having beaten out the class president for the honor by a narrow margin, her strict work ethic - which she had picked up from her brother - having drawn the attention of her school teachers and faculty members. It didn't make her popular with the class president, who was from a more affulent family in the city, but Claire could care less.

Thity more minutes had passed before the ceremony had reached its conclusion.

The principal was now at the podium. "I present to you, the West Raccoon High School Class of Nineteen Hundred and Ninety-Seven," he said with pride in his voice. "Gradutates...graduate!"

The senior class took that as their cue to throw their caps into the air and cheered.

* * *

After the ceremony, Chris had treated both Claire and Jill to a dinner at one of Raccoon's most popular spots.

The restaurant was called the Grill 13, one of several main restaurants in Raccoon City. One of Claire's favorite restaurants (aside from Emmy's Diner), Grill 13 was known for as its namesake, its grilled kabobs, lobster, steak and chicken. Chris had promised to take Claire to the Grill 13 for a graduation dinner, promising to spare no expense. Chris was as good as his word, despite the twenty-minute wait.

At the moment, Jill and the Redfield siblings were at a booth, having ordered their dinner. Jill and Claire were on one side, while Chris sat on the opposite end. The jackets and gown were left in the truck, as well as Chris' necktie.

"So what are you going to do now, Claire?" Jill asked as she sipped from her glass of tea.

"College. Most definitely," Claire replied.

"Given how I'm help paying your way," Chris added. "So what you plan on majoring in?"

"Well, you got me interested in International Relations," Claire explained, "so I'll have that as my major. Stone Ville University has a good program there. I'll still tinker around with auto repair, but that's just a hobby." The female Redfield noticed Jill's expression darken slightly. "What is it?"

"I'm originally from Stone Ville," Jill explained. "Dad and I are quite infamous there, given our ex-occupations, and the sheriff there is a total prick. He is obsessed in seeing that both Dad and myself are tossed in the slammer for life. His name's Thomas Carter."

"I heard about him," Chris said. "A real ball-buster. Thinks he's Stone Ville's version of Joe Arapio," He turned to Claire. Fishing out a small envelope from his back pocket, he handed it to his sister. "This is from the guys at the office."

Claire accepted it and opened it. Inside was two thousand dollars in twenty $100 bills. Also inside was a note from Wesker himself.

_**Dear Heart,**_

_**Congratulations on your completion of high school. Consider this a present from myself and the rest of S.T.A.R.S. Good luck in the future.**_

_**Wesker, Alpha and Bravo Teams.**_

_**P.S. Forest wants a rematch at the gun range before you leave. Indulge him sometime.**_

"Your boss is most generous," Claire said as she pocketed the envelope. "This will be put to good use. College books don't come cheap."

"Either way, Mom and Dad would be proud of you," Chris said. "I know I am."

Claire smiled at the compliment. Then her eyes moved from her brother to an unwanted guest who had arrived at their table. Chris followed his sister's gaze and almost immediately, his mood took a serious nosedive. It was the last person Chris wanted to see.

Jill looked at the newcomer. She looked to be about Chris' age, with short dark brown hair cut in a pageboy-style mop. An annoying smirk was on her face, one that showed superiority. Unlike the two R.P.D. officers and Claire, she was dressed in semi-casual attire. Jill had remembered Chris talking about her. Apparently, this woman was Chris' ex-fiancée.

Stacey Kelso.

And here she was in the flesh.

"Well, well. Chris Redfield," Stacey said. "Never thought I'd see you here."

Chris frowned. "Stacey. What are you doing here?"

Stacey looked at her ex-fiancé as if she was insulted. "Now, now, Chris. No need for such hostility," she replied, her tone lacking any warmth. "I just simply wanted to offer my congratulations to both you and your partner for your little act of heroism at the bank. Of course, I thought that Gustav was pulling my leg. I mean, you of all people, a hero? Then again, I guess working as a cop is better than nothing, since that's the only job you were able to get after getting kicked out of the Air Force."

Jill frowned. 'Okay, that was very rude,' she thought.

Stacey's smug attitude was short-lived as Chris fired off a comeback. He tapped hs finger to his chin in thought. "Gustav...Gustav...oh, now I remember. He's the plastic surgeon you dumped me for...that was cold, even from you. You ditched me, after taking nearly all of the cash out of my savings account. That was after I saw you and him sucking face at Evil Ed's birthday party."

Stacey fumed. "Gustav is not a plastic surgeon! He is an enhancement specialist! The best in the state!" she shouted, drawing attention to herself without realizing it. "He makes people feel better about themselves!"

Jill smiled inwardly. Chris knew how to push the right buttons on certain people. The only people that were immune to his tactics were his sister, Barry and Wesker. Stacey's main problem was that she was insecure about her appearance.

Chris snorted. "Enhancement specialist, plastic surgeon, same thing." He glanced at Stacey's chest. "I was wondering how your chest had gotten big. Guess that explains it. Probably didn't have to pay for the tit-job. You were always insecure about your looks." He looked at her face. "Got yourself a rhinoplasty too. This is a private dinner, celebrating Claire's high school graduation. You are not invited, Kelso. Leave now."

Stacey looked at Claire. "Really? With all the bouncing around you did, it's a miracle she graduated at all."

Chris noticed that Jill's hand was slowly balling into a fist, while Claire's hand inched towards her steak knife. He wondered if it did come to blows (or in Claire's case, stabbing) would he be able to get both of them off on attempted murder charges.

Before Claire could reply, Jill had beaten her to the punch. "You shouldn't speak ill about other people. You may not like how they defend themselves. From what I've seen, Chris is more responsible than you will ever be."

"Was I talking to you?" Stacey barked out, glaring at Jill. "You should stay out of other people's conversations."

"Not when it comes to my partner and his sister," Jill defended calmly, yet her tone promised serious pain should Stacey continue down this path. "From what I've seen, Chris showed more responsibility than most men his age. And like he said, this is a private dinner, and you are intruding. I think it's time for you to leave."

Stacey scoffed. "Just like you to hide behind a woman, Chris."

"Who says I was hiding?" Chris replied. "I already told you how I think about you, which is that you are a pompous, self-centered, gold-digging, spoiled bitch. Please give me a reason to arrest you, Stacey. Otherwise, leave."

Before Stacey could retort, the manager approached the table, along with a R.P.D. officer who was there with his wife having dinner. "Pardon me, but is there a problem?" the manager asked.

"Perfect timing," Chris replied, giving the cop a nod. "My ex-fiancée is disrupting a private dinner between my sister, Officer Valentine and myself."

The manager quickly nodded in understading. "Of course." He turned to the officer. "Escort this woman out of my restaurant."

The R.P.D. officer placed one hand on Stacey's shoulder. "Let's go, lady."

Stacey shrugged off the cop's hand. "Don't touch me," she seethed. Turning to Chris, she hissed, "This isn't over, Redfield."

Chris waved her off. "You really should learn how to close your mouth, Kelso. Of course, I'll bet my badge that Gustav isn't complaining on how you use it," he said, grinning evilly, causing Jill and Claire to snicker. "Oh, and I suggest you leave now. Try anything stupid, and Gustav will be bailing you out of jail."

Stacey growled. As she turned on her heel, she left with a final shot. "I hope you choke on your steak, Redfield," she snarled before stalking out of the restaurant, the cop making sure she left before returning to his table.

"And I hope you choke on Gustav's dick, but I'm not going to hold my breath," Chris muttered.

After Stacey was gone, the manager turned to Chris and Jill. "My apologies for that unfortunate incident. Consider your dinner on the house."

After the manager had lft their table, Jill turned to Chris. "So that was your ex-fiancée?"

Chris nodded.

"What a bitch," Jill said.

"No argument here," Claire muttered as the trio resumed their dinner.

* * *

It was a week after Claire's graduation and she wanted to get a head start on her courses. Fortunately, Stone Ville University had summer courses which she could get a jump-start on. That and she would also begin her part-time job working as a mechanic at the town's garage.

So after the graduation parties were complete, Chris, with Jill and Barry helping, helped Claire pack up her belongings, and loaded them onto the back of Chris' pickup. Barry went on home, while Jill tagged along with Chris, Claire following them on her bike to Jill's old hometown of Stone Ville.

Stone Ville was seventy miles away from Raccoon City, at the southernmost base of the Arklay Mountains. Unlike Exeter, which was a resort town with a military base, and Raccoon City, who had the financial backing of Umbrella, Stone Ville's main source of income came from its two colleges, Stone Ville University and Colorado Technical College. Or rather, from the college students who flock there to attend classes every year.

Jill had hoped that her return to her hometown would go unnoticed, as she did not want to deal with the overzealous sheriff obsessed with seeing her in jail for the rest of her life. Unfortunately, as seen with Chris and his bitch of an ex-fiancée, things usually don't go as planned.

As she helped Claire settle into her dorm, one of the locals who had a past run-in with the Valentine family had spotted her with Chris and Claire and had immediately phoned it in to the police, along with Chris's license plate.

It wouldn't be long before the sheriff himself would be involved, since he himself had arrested both father and daughter.

Of course, whereas Dick was sent to jail, the judge at Jill's trial granted her leniency, giving her a choice of serving time in jail or joining the military, much to Carter's dismay. Imagine Carter's shock when he found out that not only was Jill Valentine was a cop working for the Raccoon Police Department, but was one of two cops that had thwarted the robbers a month earlier. Those same robbers that had robbed Stone Ville's bank and had shot their way out of the town, thus making Carter's sheriff department look like complete idiots, not to mention killing three of them.

Assuming that Jill had gotten a job with the Raccoon police force under false pretenses, Carter had placed a phone call to Chief Irons and Captain Wesker, both who had confirmed that Jill Valentine was in fact, a police officer. When Carter pointed out Jill's criminal past, Irons also confirmed that both him and Wesker were aware of Jill's sealed juvie records, thus bringing Carter's attempt at a smear campaign to a halt.

But despite everything, Carter still saw Jill as a criminal, like her father.

* * *

After getting Claire settled in, Chris and Jill said their goodbyes and left the college dorm. It was when they were out of the college campus that Chris noticed that the truck was almost out of gas, meaning that they had to stop at a gas station in order to refuel.

He also noticed that they were being followed.

A Ford Crown Victoria, complete with the insignia of the Stone Ville Sheriff's Department.

Jill caught the look on Chris' face. "What? What is it?" she asked.

"We're being tailed," Chris replied. "Is that who I think it is?"

Jill looked out at her rearview mirror. "That's Carter, all right. Shit. Someone must have made me while we were at the university. Carter's got an information network made up of loyal supporters. They must have recognized me from the college. And to think I almost got out of not having to deal with this asshole," she muttered. "Can we get back to Raccoon without stopping?"

"Wishful thinking, Valentine, but no," her partner replied. "I gotta stop for some gas."

"Damn."

"Just calm down. Unless you decided to take back to you old occupation during our off-hours, you got nothing to be worried about. Carter's gonna try and provoke you. He has no probable cause to detain you, despite your past."

"I hope you're right," Jill replied.

"Jill, just trust me, okay?" Chris said as he pulled into the gas station.

While Jill was by the truck, pumping gas, Chris was inside the station, picking up some snacks and drinks for the ride back home. The Crown Vick pulled into the gas station, having been caught by a traffic light minutes earlier, blocking Chris' truck from the rear, while a Jeep Cherokee, also bearing the insignia of the Stone Ville Sheriff's Department, pulled in front of the truck, blocking it in.

Two deputies exited the Crown Vick and approached the truck from the rear. Jill recognized them from when she was arrested the last time. Carter made sure that the deputies backing him up hated the Valentine family with a passion as they took up positions at the rear of the truck.

As Chris exited the gas station, the Cherokee's doors opened. From the passenger side, out stepped the Sheriff of Stone Ville County, while his deputy/chief ass kisser emerged from the driver's side. Thomas J. Carter was a career lawman with over twenty years of experience as a officer of the law. His methods of keeping the peace were at times, controversial, as he aggressively upheld the peace with unorthodox, yet effective methods. The only black eyes to his career, were Jill's guilty plea, which led her to the army, and the robbers his police force failed to stop.

When Carter had confronted the judge who had given Jill her reprieve, the judge had simply replied, "I don't work for you, Carter. I work only for the state of Colorado."

Upon finding out that Jill was one of the two police officers who had thwarted the robbery at Raccoon National, Carter was visibly upset. A former thief who had in his mind escaped justice was partially responsible for stopping the robbers which had made a complete fool out of the Stone Ville Sheriff's Department.

Then he received a call from one of his deputies, telling him that Jill was in the town, along with a man who was later identified as her partner. He later found out that Jill was seen at Stone Ville University, helping her partner's sister unpack and move into her dorm. It was when they had stopped for gas on their way out of town, did Carter, along with his deputy decided to confront Jill.

Tom Carter approached the two S.T.A.R.S. members. "Jillianne Valentine. The self-proclaimed 'Mistress of Unlocking.'"

Jill smiled meanly. "Tom Carter. You wouldn't be here unless someone told you that I was back in town."

"Hey!" the deputy, a lanky man by the name of Ed McCrary shouted. "It's Sheriff Carter to you! You will show him the respect that is due!"

A side glance from carter silenced his deputy. He turned back to Chris and Jill. "Show me some ID."

Chris and Jill handed over their R.P.D. card cases, which contained their R.P.D. identification cards, as well as their badges. After a moment, he tossed the back to Chris and Jill, who both caught them in the air.

"Never thought that breaking and entering would be a required skill for the R.P.D.," Carter snorted.

"It's Jill to you. My title of Mistress of Unlocking is not just a boast, but a well-deserved title," Jill replied coldly.

Turning to his deputies, Carter said, "We got ourselves a bonafide hero in our midst." That caused the two deputies to chuckle. Turning back to the ex-thief and her partner. "I had always wondered if you had went back to your life of crime. Instead, I find out that you became a cop. Not only you become a cop, but you stopped a bank robbery. That shit doesn't fly with me, Valentine. You're just like your old man, a criminal. Always have, always will be."

Jill smiled meanly. "Want to know the truth, Carter? I really don't give a flying fuck what you think of me. Never had when I was breaking into cars. Sure as hell don't now."

"And that's what's sad," Carter said. "You don't care."

"That's where you're wrong, Sheriff," Jill said, pronouncing Carter's title with sarcasm. "I do care. I care for the people of Raccoon City. I care for my co-workers at the R.P.D. I just don't care about you or what you think."

"But do they know about your past?" McCrary asked. "I'll bet they'll stop caring once they find out that you're an ex-thief. Especially your partner."

"I already know about her past," Chris said, catching the veiled threat. "So she broke into a couple of cars. Big deal."

McCrary snorted. "A couple? Try twenty-nine."

"Thirty," Jill corrected. "Thirty cars, and eight houses. If you're gonna insult me, at least get your numbers right."

Carter decided to change the subject. "What are you doing in my town, Valentine?"

This time, it was Chris that spoke. "Jill's with me. She tagged along to help my sister move into her dorm."

"Is that right?" Carter replied. "You're her partner. I remember seeing your face in the paper."

Chris nodded, not even intimidated by the sheriff, despite being in his hometown.

"Did you know that Valentine here is a thief, trained by her father?" Carter inquired. "Her father, which is serving time for grand larceny? I would have gone two-for-two, had it not been for that bleeding heart of a judge that made that plea deal."

"Of course I know," Chris replied. "I never judge a person by their past. Only by their character. I see what she can become, you can't get past her being an ex-thief."

"Then you're a damn fool," McCrary said.

Chris leveled his cold stare on the loudmouth deputy. "Care to repeat that?" Chris asked, his voice so cold that even the two deputies behind him and Jill flinched.

McCrary gulped. "Nothing. Never mind. Forget I said anything."

If anything, seeing Chris defend her from the overzealous sheriff and his boot-licking lackey had earned him major respect points for Jill.

"While my hotheaded deputy was out of line with that remark, he does have a point. Valentine is not to be trusted. She is still a thief. Only difference is that she's hiding behind that badge."

"Strange," Chris replied. "You claim that Jill's hiding behind her badge, yet you're doing the same thing."

Carter took a step forward. "Son, you really don't want me as your enemy. I am the law in this town."

"Well, law or not, I don't want you as a friend either," Chris rebuked, not backing down. "You don't have probable cause to question my partner or myself. Your prejudice towards Jill is clearly baseless. If you don't mind, then Jill and I have a long drive back to Raccoon City."

"Oh I do have cause," Carter replied. "And because of your big mouth, I got probable cause to search your vehicle. Maybe a night inside our jail will teach you some respect."

If anything, Chris looked amused. "Would you like to discuss this with Chief Irons? Or perhaps with Captain Wesker? I'm sure that they will not be happy if they find out you're harassing two of their cops. Two cops who in the minds of the state of Colorado, are heroes. That would bring down some unwanted attention from the governor and the lieutenant governor. Both who are looking for a reason to investigate you and your office."

Carter visibly paled at this threat. Chris knew his weak point and had exploited it. He was not very popular with the Govenor or the Lieutenant Governor, and the last thing he wanted was the both of them on his ass, which would ultimately lead to the end of his career. Even he saw the news report of the awards ceremony at the R.P.D., and that both Chris and Jill were in the good graces of the Govenor and the Lieutenant Govenor.

Chris saw that he had won this battle. "Thought so. This conversation is officially over." To McCrary, he said, "Get that truck out of my way."

Before Carter could say anything, McCrary was in the vehicile, backing the Cherokee out of the way. Carter was still fuming as Chris and Jill took off.

* * *

"So that was Tom Carter, huh?" Chris asked when he and Jill were back on the highway. "I've seen better. Come to think about it, I've seen worse as well."

"I'm actually impressed, Redfield," Jill complimented as the truck headed north along the expressway. "You handled yourself pretty well against Carter. Most guys would have folded under a guy like Carter."

"Thankfully, I'm not most guys," Chris replied. "Besides, my former C.O. back in the Air Force was a lot scarier than that guy. Carter's let the power go to his head. He thinks he's untouchable. People like him are the most dangerous - they have the power to make people's lives hell."

"And you're not worried that he might harass Claire while she's attending school in Stone Ville?" Jill asked.

"I'm not worried," Chris replied. "The most Carter can do is run a background check on Claire. Other than that, he can't touch her...unless Claire royally screws up, and that will never happen."

"If you say so," Jill said. "Carter doesn't like being made a fool out of. We already did that when we stopped the bank robbery. You did it a second time when you called his bluff."

"And he may go after my sister out of pure spite, right?" Chris surmised. When Jill nodded, Chris simply replied "The day I find out he's harassing my sister, one phone call is all I need and that will be the day his badge will be on my mantle."

Next chapter: An impromptu date at the Raccoon Zoo leads to a late night working at the office, followed by Chris and Jill becoming more than friends.

Snafu's Notes: Stacey Kelso was the name given to the female zombie (as Stacy Kelso) in S.D. Perry's third Resident Evil Novel (City of the Dead). Yeah, Chris once dated the woman who would later become the female zombie seen in Resident Evil 2. In the novels, Kelso was from a neighboring town who had stopped in Raccoon city for some ice cream, but ended up taking refuge inside the R.P.D. during the outbreak. She met and chatted with Ada Wong shortly before her demise. As you can see, Stacey Kelso is Chris' ex-fiancée. As for Sheriff Carter, I modeled him after both Arizona Sheriff Arapio with a bit of Will Teasle (the sheriff from First Blood) mixed in. Also, the casual attire Jill was wearing came from the original Resident Evil. The tattoo of the tribal phoenix is something I added in.


	7. 5: Comforts

**Chapter Five: Comforts**

Snafu's Notes: There's actually two versions of this chapter; a clean version, and a lemon version. I was debating with myself as to how to proceed; should I use the clean version, or the lemon version? After thinking this over, I came to a solution. Resident Evil: A Change In Pace will remain as a T-rated fanfic, while I will post the lemon chapters seperately.

Seeing as how that this is a Resident Evil fanfic, there will be diary and journal entries from Chris and Jill respectively. Oh, and there's also a Resident Evil 5 reference in this chapter. See if you can find it.

From the journal of Chris Redfield...

_**October 10, 1997**_

_**Two months. It's been two months since Jill and I had started sleeping together. Two months since our relationship began. If you call it a relationship at first. More like 'friends with benefits.'**_

_**I guess it was because I was lonely. Jill too. Some folks sometimes skip the friendship and go straight to the sex. Fortunately Jill and I were friends as well as partners. Wesker, Barry and the others were still kept in the dark, and for good reason. Relationships between R.P.D. officers were against the rules, leading to Jill and I sneaking around the R.P.D. late nights for a quickie.**_

_**Most of the rooms in the R.P.D. don't have security cameras, which made looking for a makeout spot even easier. Of course, there's always her place, and my house. We even spent one weekend together at the Apple Inn. If I had told anyone that Chris Redfield was breaking the rules so he could get a piece of tail from his partner, they would have looked at me like I was insane.**_

_**But I wanted it. I wanted Jill. And I knew that she wanted me as well.**_

_**But I'm getting ahead of myself. It started two months ago. I was at home, enjoying my day off when Jill came to my doorstep.**_

[Flashback]

_Redfield Home - August, 1997._

_Things had calmed down in Raccoon City. Claire had settled into life as a college student down in Stone Ville, and thankfully, was having no problems with Sheriff Carter or his deputies. Jill had moved out of Chris' house and into a new apartment building that was closer to the R.P.D., yet Chris still picked her up every morning on his way into work._

_At the moment, Chris Redfield was in the den. Seated on the couch, Chris had just finished cleaning his Samurai Edge. He loaded a fresh clip into the weapon and placed the gun on safety before placing it back on the table. It was his day off and he had nothing planned._

_Of course, fate can be a real bitch sometimes._

_Chris turned to the photo that sat on the coffee table. The photo was of himself and Jill, taken several days earlier. Both were dressed in their respective S.T.A.R.S. uniforms; Chris wearing a green flak vest over his T-shirt, gray combat fatigues and boots, while Jill was wearing a blue shirt with a pair of shoulder harnesses strapped on, blue cargo pants and boots. Her beret was on Chris' head as a playful gesture._

_The photo was taken earlier that week, following a training exercise between Alpha and Bravo Teams inside a condemned part of Raccoon's Warehouse District used by the R.P.D. for training purposes. Led by Wesker with Chris as tactician, Bravo Team was routed and Marini was beaten. It was Kenneth that had taken the photo of the two partners, and had a friend who worked in the R.P.D. forensics department develop the film. He gave Chris and Jill each a copy._

_That was another thing that was a recent development. That was his growing attraction to his partner._

_Sure Jill was a tempermental person and was at some times, a hothead, but at the same time, Chris did enjoy hanging out with her. And she turned out to be an excellent student in close-quarters-combat, having taken his lessons to heart. So far, during their sparring sessions, they both were tied with three wins each._

_It started with the dream of her half-naked playing 'Greensleaves' on the piano. Now, the attraction was growing._

_'Shit. At least she's not Stacey,' Chris thought, remembering the confrontation at Grill 13. 'She's not a social-climbing wannabe debutante. She's a hard worker, and she watched my back during the bank robbery. She's smart, funny...Claire likes her, which is a huge bonus...she wants to prove herself, like me...'_

_The knocking on his door had interrupted his reverie. Wondering as to who could be calling on him on his day off, Chris exited the den, and made his way to the door._

_"Who is it?" he demanded._

_"Open the door, Chris."_

_It was Jill, and she sounded pissed. Praying that it wasn't nothing that he had done, Chris placed his weapon on safety and holstered it before unlocking and opening the door._

_As soon as the door opened, Jill stormed in. She was definitely pissed, as Chris had noticed. The second thing he noticed was what she was wearing._

_His partner was dressed in a strapless blue bustier which showed off the curves in chest and torso. Chris also noticed that said bustier buttoned from the back. A black miniskirt which ended several inches above her knees was the next item she had on, which was partially concealed by the white shirt she had tied to her waist. A pair of knee-high boots completed the outfit. Chris saw that she wore no makeup, as usual. But to him, that only enhanced her appearance._

_'God, she's hot,' Chris thought._

_Before Chris could say anything, Jill began to rant._

_"I don't believe this. He stood me up. I've been waiting at that damn restaurant for over an hour and a half and Jason didn't even have the decency to let me know that he wasn't going to make it. First impressions my ass."_

_Chris decided to let his partner vent. Even he knew that Jill Valentine could be scary when pissed. In some cases, she could be even more scarier than Wesker. And given the fact that she was his partner, Chris would sometimes bear the brunt of her verbal rants. Thankfully, they were not directed at him._

_"I knew that he didn't want to be seen with a cop. What's wrong with having a career in law enforcement?" Jill asked as she slumped into a chair. She let out a groan. "God, I hate my life."_

_"What happened?" Chris asked, concerned._

_Jill took the moment to explain. She had met a guy while visiting The Boutique and made plans for a date. After waiting for an hour, Jason did not show. It didn't take a rocket scientist to realize that she had just been stood up._

_After a moment, Chris walked over to his closet and retrieved his leather jacket. Slipping it on, he walked over to his steaming partner. "Get up," he said. "You're coming with me."_

_Jill looked up. "What? Where are we going?"_

_Chris grinned. "You'll see."_

_

* * *

__Twenty minutes later, the pair had reached their destination._

_Jill looked at Chris. "The Raccoon Zoo? Seriously?"_

_Chris shrugged his shoulders. "Would you rather spend the evening feeling ranting about your date?"_

_Jill had no reply. At least Chris was trying to cheer her up...sort of. Sighing to herself, she resigned herself to her fate. But deep down, it had been a long time since she had visited the zoo. Besides, Chris was paying for her admission._

_After a while, Jill was enjoying herself. The zoo's main attraction, the bull elephant named Oscar, was out sick. But that didn't stop Chris and Jill from having a good time. Being the prodigy that he was, Chris was explaining to Jill about the various types of animals and where they were from._

* * *

_At the moment, the pair were standing in front of the lions' exhibit. Jill was looking at the zoo's pamphlet, reading over the info regarding the lions. The four lions in questions - the one male lion and the three lionesses - were simply lounging in their artificial habitat._

_"Says here that the lionesses' names are Silfy, Angela and Jennifer," Jill read, "and that the male lion's name is Max."_

_"The lion's binomial nomenclature, or binomial name, is Panthera leo," Chris explained. "With some males exceeding 550 pounds in weight, it is the second-largest living cat after the tiger. Lions are unusually social compared to other cats. A pride of lions consists of related females and offspring and a small number of adult males. Groups of female lions typically hunt together, preying mostly on large ungulates. Lions are apex and keystone predators, although they will scavenge if the opportunity arises. While lions do not typically hunt humans selectively, some have been known to become man-eaters and seek human prey."_

_Jill looked at Chris, obviously impressed. "Is there anything you don't know?" she asked playfully._

_Chris smiled that rougish smile as he shrugged his shoulders. "Many things," he replied as they walked from the exhibit. Inside, Max let out a roar, but the two S.T.A.R.S. members didn't seem to notice._

_Chris had his hands in his pocket as he walked along the pathway with Jill. As they passed the hyena exhibit, Jill linked her arm with Chris's own._

_"Chris," the ex-thief began, smiling at her partner. "Thanks...for caring. You really didn't have to do this, but thanks anyway. I feel a lot better now."_

_Chris could have just left her to rant and rave about her botched date, Jill realized, but here he was, cheering her up. She knew about his problems with his social-climbing ex-fiancée, about how she had ditched him a month before their wedding day following his discharge from the Air Force. Even she remembered Chris's run-in with Stacey following Claire's graduation and she had to fight the urge not to punch that smug bitch in the mouth._

_"Whoever this guy is," Chris replied, "he's a complete asshole to leave you hanging like he did."_

_For some odd reason, Jill's heart fluttered at the comment._

_That is, until Chris's cellphone ruined the moment. Chris retrieved the item and looked at the caller ID. "It's Wesker," he said._

_Chris activated the phone. "Redfield here."_

_"Chris, I need both you and Jill to work the graveyard shift tonight," Wesker voice replied. "I know Marini and Speyer were supposed to be working tonight, but they're covering for two of the patrolmen. Do this for me and the both of you have the weekend off."_

_"We'll be there," Chris replied, ending the call._

_"What is it?" Jill asked as Chris pocketed his phone._

_"That was Wesker. Looks like we're gonna be working late tonight," Chris said._

_Jill groaned. "Great. Eight hours of torture."_

_Since it was a Friday, graveyard shift for the S.T.A.R.S. consisted of eight hours inside the S.T.A.R.S. Office, catching up on paperwork. Either way, it wasn't going to be very fun._

_"Think it's payback for kicking Bravo's ass in that training exercise?" Chris asked._

_"Could be," Jill replied. "Either way, Saturday night is going to suck."_

[End Flashback]

_**The S.T.A.R.S. Office was located in the east wing on the second floor. Most of the cops working the graveyard shift are situated on the west side of the building.**_

[Flashback]

_Raccoon Police Department, S.T.A.R.S. Office - several hours later._

_The paperwork wasn't as bad as it was expected. Chris and Jill had gotten through with it and had it filed in less than four hours. Of course, they could not just go home early, which would earn them Wesker's ire. So Chris ordered some Chinese takeout from a 24-hour restaurant in uptown Raccoon City, and the two had a late-night dinner._

_Jill was poking through her fried rice with a fork, while Chris was eating his with a pair of chopsticks. Jill watched as Chris ate his dinner with the chopsticks. "How can you do that?" she asked._

_Chris grinned. "Spent one summer in South Korea. They got excellent kimchee there. A friend of mine taught me how to use chopsticks. Not that hard really."_

_"What's next? You can tell me that you can kill a person with a pair of chopsticks?"_

_Jill nearly dropped her carton of rice at Chris' reply. "Sure. Just jab the chopsticks into the offending bastard's throat as hard as you can."_

_"You're joking, right?"_

_Chris shook his head. "Nope."_

_The partners continued their dinner in silence. As Jill ate her rice, she too was having the same thoughts Chris was having earlier. And her growing attraction towards Chris scared her, but at the same time, she wanted to be close to him._

_'It's funny. I thought that I would never get close to another man, after I was nearly raped,' the brunette thought. 'But Chris...he's a different story altogether. He didn't judge me because of my past. He has a kind heart and a strict work ethic. He's helped me to become a better fighter. And responsible, from what I've seen with Claire. Oh, shit. Can I be attracted to my partner?'_

_Jill pondered this for a moment as she watched Chris search his desk drawer for some random item. 'Well...he does have his moments. Dad likes him, and he's a hard person to impress. Rita was right about him having a cute butt, and he's in good shape, despite the battle scars.'_

_Realizing that her carton was empty, she tossed it in the trash, where it landed on Chris' own carton and chopsticks._

_Chris looked at his watch. "Ten minutes till two."_

_Jill nodded. "Yeah." She looked at her bustiere and skirt. "Can't believe I ended up coming to work dressed like I just left happy hour at Bar Jack."_

_Chris shrugged his shoulders. "Looks good on you," he said. "I meant what I said back at the zoo, Jill. About your date ditching you the way he did."_

_"I know."_

_After a moment, Chris said, "You know, you're a lot cuter when you let your guard down."_

_Jill immediately frowned. "I never let my guard down, Redfield," she snapped as she rose from her desk. "Not even for you."_

_She turned to the door. As she reached for the door, she felt Chris' hand on her wrist. Acting on reflex, Jill spun around and swung her free hand, which was balled into a fist..._

_...only to see Chris, who was standing behind her, his hand holding her wrist in a firm grip._

_Jill felt her back up against the door as Chris pinned her in, but allowed her some movement should she wanted to escape. Her heart was pounding inside her chest._

_Her mind was screaming, screaming for her to do something. 'What are you standing around for? Bite him! Knee him in the nuts! DAMMIT! DO SOMETHING!'_

_Then her mind, for lack of a better term, had shut down._

_The reason being was that Chris Redfield was kissing her._

_Her eyes widened. Then they slowly sank shut as Jill began to respond to the kiss, Chris releasing her arms as she wrapped around Chris's neck as she returned the kiss. Never did she imagine Chris as the aggressor, but here he was, kissing her._

_During this time, Jill's mind had rebooted._

_'Okay, this is very unexpected,' Jill thought. 'Not that I'm complaining, anyway. Can't say that Chris is not unlike the other jerks I've dated. Am actually in love with this guy?'_

_Seeing as how she was returning his kiss rather than trying to take his head off, or kneeing him in the junk, she just might be._

_After a moment, they broke off the kiss. Jill kept her eyes closed as she exhaled sharply as she tried to get her heart under control. That kiss sure as hell set off some serious fireworks._

_"You were saying?" Chris began, arms stil around her waist, having slipped them around her torso._

_Jill slowly opened her eyes. "Christopher Redfield...if you don't kiss me right now...I'm gonna kick your ass all over this office." It was a half-hearted threat at best._

_Chris kissed her again. Jill's lips were soft, warm, and tasted like honey...that and the fried rice and braised wings she had for dinner. Her tongue was spicy as it made its way into Chris' open mouth as it wrestled with his organ for superiority._

_Jill let out a gasp as she felt Chris' hands on her rear, lifting her up, her back firmly up against the door. Chris felt her legs wrap around his waist as the kiss intensified._

_Once again, the pair broke off the kiss, due to a lack of oxygen. Jill was still pinned up against the door._

_"So...if I wanted to stop right now," Chris whispered, "do you really think you can stop me?"_

_The smell of soap and spice was intoxicating to Jill. "I think the question you should be asking me is do I want to," she breathed. "I need you, Chris. Oh, God I need you..."_

_They resumed their liplock once again, Jill running her fingers through Chris' hair as she moaned softly as Chris attacked her bare neck and shoulder with his lips._

[End Flashback]

_**Things had pretty much degenerated from there. Not that I was complaining. I did intiate things by kissing Jill. And she responded. Our first time was up against the S.T.A.R.S. office door. The second time was on Wesker's desk (suck on that, Wesker!). During our first time, I noticed three things about Jill. One - she's definitely a C-cup. Two - her boobs are real. Three - she looks even more hot when flustered and horny. Who'd have thought that the reserved Jillianne Valentine was a sex pistol?**_

_**We spent the weekend together in bed. That was just the beginning. It's been like that for the past two months, or close to it. We tried to talk about our relationship, but...for some reason, we just can't find the words. First relationship I've had since my breakup and it's based solely on lust. And I thought that my relationship with Stacey was bad. Hell, even my first relationship with Melani wasn't that bad.**_

_**We managed to keep our relationship a secret so far, but sooner or later, someone will find out about Jill and I. I just hope that the fallout isn't that bad.**_

* * *

Raccoon Police Department, October 15, 1997.

For the past four days, the entire Arklay region of Raccoon City has been caught in a thunderstorm. Called 'the storm of the decade,' Raccoon City had been caught right smack in the middle of it. The Marble River had overflowed and there had been some reports of flooding in the outskirts of the city, along with reports on power outtages in the area.

Chris Redfield looked at his watch. Less than an hour before it was time to get off of work. Jill was out on patrol with Rita, since Marvin was out sick. Both he and Jill - along with the rest of S.T.A.R.S. - had been at the police station for two days straight, helping the denziens of the mountain town cope with the massive storm. Both Chris and Jill assissted the other cops in evacuating the areas surrounding the river the previous day, and now after nearly a week, the rain was starting to wane.

At the moment, Chris was inside the R.P.D. Library's second floor balcony, returning several books on Colorado common law. Chris despised coming to the library, or more importantly, its second floor. The wooden floor was rotting in several places, especially in the far corner. Any more stress on the boards, and they would most certainly give way, which is why several pieces of plywood was placed over the bad spots, until Chief Irons could get the cash together for repairs.

As Chris rounded the corner and reached the stairs, Barry Burton had entered through the double doors, and spied Chris descending from the stairs. "Redfield. A word."

Confused as to what Barry want, Chris allowed the older man to lead him into a corner of the library. Since it was already late at night, the area was thankfully deserted, leaving the two men alone.

"I know about you and Jill." It was not an accusation, but a statement. "I know that the both of you are sleeping together."

'Crap. Busted,' Chris thought.

Barry folded his arms across his chest, looking down at Chris like he just caught the younger man in the cookie jar. "Care to explain?"

"How did you find out?"

"Your last visit to the Apple Inn," Barry replied. "I must admit that it is a nice place for a romantic rendezvous, but next time, choose a spot where my wife does not work at. She called me after she spotted both you and Jill leaving the inn...after she checked the check-in sheet and saw that the both of you stayed there overnight. You used your real name, but how many women in this city who use the alias J.C. Valentine?"

Chris mentally slapped himself. 'Dammit. Forgot that Kathy worked as a receptionist at the inn.'

"How long has this been going on?" Barry asked. "You and Jill?"

"Over two months. So what now? You're gonna report me to Wesker?"

Barry thought about it for a moment. "For the fraternization and the sexual misconduct...no. Although I would reccomend that you would choose your little makeout spots even more carefully. Some of the cops here are looking for you to fail. Especially after that stunt at the bank."

"Story of my life," Chris mused. "Been like that since high school."

"You really think that you're the only cop here that's doing the Naked Pretzel Twist with a fellow officer inside the R.P.D.?" Barry continued. "Word on the grapevine is that about 20 officers have relationships with their fellow officers, while I'm pretty certain that a couple of high-ranking officers are taking cash on the side. You just chose the lesser evil."

* * *

Inside Chief Irons' office, Brian Irons sneezed as he accepted another Umbrella bribe from Captain Wesker.

"You're not coming down with something, are you?" Wesker inquired, eyebrow raised. "I have to report in to the Arklay Labs for the week, and I'd hate to catch whatever you got."

"I'm fine," Irons insisted. "I think someone's talking about me."

* * *

Back inside the library...

"So what's the rumor mill saying about Jill and I?"

"You managed to deflect them with that picture of you and your ex on your desk," Barry reported, "while most of the cops think that Jill's a lesbian."

"I always did have a soft spot for Mel," Chris admitted. "She's one of the few that I can actually stand. Thanks for not telling anyone about Jill and I."

Barry shrugged his shoulders. "No problem. I think it's safe to say that it's pretty obvious that you took after your old man when it comes to breaking the rules. Prodigy or not, you are definitely Lawrence's kid."

"Don't remind me," Chris said. "He was a maverick all his life. I think that rubbed off on Claire and me."

"I trust that you will not hurt Jill. She's been hurt before."

Chris nodded. "I know about her near rape. Dick told me when Jill and I visited him at the prison. Swore me to secrecy as well. Jill doesn't know that I know. I respect Jill too much for that..."

Barry cocked an eyebrow. "But..."

"But...these past two months...this whole relationship has been based off of lust. Plain and simple. At least Mel and I talked." Chris sat down in a chair, shoulders slumped.

Barry pulled up a second chair and sat down opposite from Chris. "Kathy and I were just the same as you and Jill, going at it like rabbits in heat. Coming from experience, a relationship based off of lust will not last. Sooner or later, you and Jill will have to sit down and talk. Sooner is better than later. Better yet, talk to her tonight."

Giving the younger man a reassuring pat on the shoulder, Barry rose from his seat and exited the library, heading in the direction of the S.T.A.R.S. Office, leaving Chris with a lot to think about.

* * *

Meanwhile, down at Emmy's Diner...

"Stupid freaky weather," Jill muttered as she took a sip of her tea. "Why couldn't it rain like this down in Exeter? Or Harvardville?"

The S.T.A.R.S. member was seated in her favorite booth inside Emmy's Diner, with Rita seated on the opposite end, the Louisiana-born cop also nursing a cup of warm tea. Outside, the people rushed about to get out of the rain.

Like Barry, Rita was also privy to the fact that despite the rumor mill, Jill was sleeping with Chris. And also like Barry, Rita had promised to keep Jill's secret.

"So...how are things going with you and You-Know-Who?" Rita asked.

"Great," Jill replied, albeit a tad quickly. "Things are just great."

Rita frowned. "Don't try and bullshit me, Valentine," she drawled. "I know you all too well. Somethin's eating you. So what is it?"

Jill looked at her tea for a moment before turning back to the shorthaired blonde. "Is having a relationship based solely on lust a bad thing?" she asked.

"In most cases, yeah," Rita confirmed. She then put two and two together. "You mean to tell me that all the both of you did nothing but fuck each others' brains out for the past two months?"

Jill sheepishly nodded.

"Hell, it's a wonder that no one hasn't caught on," Rita said. She then leaned forward. "So...how is he in bed?"

"RITA! That's personal!" Jill squealed.

"HA! I knew it!" Rita whooped. "He is a pistol!" After calming down, Rita continued. "Look, I can see that you care for him a lot, but you're scared that you might lose him, right?"

Jill nodded.

Rita leaned back in her seat. "Well, you at least can worry that he won't cheat on you," she said. "But coming from someone who's been there, a relationship based solely on lust cannot and will not last." After taking a sip of her tea, Rita explained. "It happened to me, you see. I was dating a guy who was also a co-worker down at the police department down in Baton Rouge." She smiled sadly. "Funny how you're young, dumb and full of cum. We used each other for our own mutual benefits, and never cleared the air as to how we truly felt. By that time, it was already too late. In the end, we broke up, and he left for New Orleans, while I transferred up north."

"Rita...I didn't know..."

"Most people don't," Rita admitted. "But you and Chris have the chance to make something beautiful out of what you two have, regulations be damned. Talk to him, Valentine. Don't make the same mistakes I made."

Jill nodded. She then frowned. "Shit. I rode in with Chris and my car's at his house. He gets off an hour after I do."

"No problem. I can drop you off at Chris' place."

* * *

Redfield Home, later on...

Stretched out on the couch in his den, Chris Redfield was stretched out on the couch, fast asleep. The T.V. was currently playing the 10 o'clock news, its top story was the thunderstorm that was still going on strong.

As Chris dozed off in the den, the front door unlocked, then opened, revealing a very soaked Jill Valentine. Since her car was hidden inside Chris' garage and Chris' pickup was in the driveway, Jill had to run up the pathway to Chris's front door. Despite her best efforts, she was still drenched in the torrential downpour. In the months following their relationship, Chris had supplied Jill with a spare housekey, allowing her access whenver needed.

Teeth slightly chattering, Jill tracked Chris down in the den. Looking down at her sleeping partner/lover, she whispered, "Chris...Chris, wake up."

Chris mumbled incoherently before shifting on the couch, getting more comfortable.

Sighing, Jill kicked the couch hard, which had the desired effect of rousing Chris from his sleep.

Despite being soaked to the bone, Jill had a serious expression on her face. "Chris, we need to...AH-CHOO!"

"Shower first," Chris interjected. "Then we'll talk. I'll make you some tea to warm you up."

* * *

Ten minutes later, Chris and Jill were seated on the couch in the den. Jill was fresh from her shower, dressed in a blue tanktop and a pair of shorts that showed off her curvaceous frame. Her hair was damp from the shower, neatly combed back.

"Feel better?" Chris asked with concern.

Jill nodded. "A little." She set the cup of tea on the table. "Chris...we need to talk about us."

Chris nodded. "I know," he replied.

Jill was silent for a moment. "Rita knows about us," she said.

Chris nodded. "So does Barry," he said. Off Jill's surprised expression, Chris explained. "Actually, it was Kathy who found out about us. From what Barry told me, she saw us leaving the Apple Inn and checked out the check-in sheet and saw my name and your alias. She told Barry, who in turn, told me."

"Damn. I forgot that she worked at the Apple Inn," Jill said.

"So did I," Chris replied. "Fortunately, Barry's on our side."

"So does Rita. She approached me the day after we got together. She was working late that night when we first got together," Jill said. "She promised me that she'll keep our secret. Chris...I can't keep doing this. I mean..."

Chris cut her off. "You want to know that this is more than just a roll in the hay, right?"

Jill blinked. Chris had pretty much guessed what was on her mind. "Yeah. Rita took me to the side and gave me some advice. And she was right. We can't last if this relationship is based solely on lust. There has to be more than that. If this relationship is nothing but that..." She let that hang.

"...then it can't last," Chris finished.

Jill nodded. "Yeah.

"I can honestly say that that I was attracted to you, but after what had happened with me and Stacey..."

Jill nodded in understanding. Seeing as how she had met his ex, that was very understandable. "Guess I can't fault you for that. You didn't want to be hurt again." She bit her bottom lip, wondering whether or not she should tell him about 'that incident.' Seeing as she had nothing to lose she decided to come clean.

"You know...you're not the only person that has their personal demons," she began.

Chris could only guess what Jill was hinting. After all, Dick had already told him about her being nearly raped.

"It...it was a couple of years ago, back when I was in the Army," she confessed. "I was dating this guy. He was a college athlete - lacrosse player. One night, he invited me to a party on campus. He tried to rape me...but I fought him off."

Eventhough he had heard it from her father, it still hurt for Chris to hear this.

"After that incident...I just closed myself off," Jill continued. "I was...just scared to be hurt again. I always hid my emotions under a mask." A sardonic smile crept across her lips. "Then you showed up. Truth be told, I thought you were just some arrogant flyboy. But then, I got to know you better off the clock. You showed a high degree of responsibility in raising Claire on your own. You stood up for me when we were back in Stone Ville, and you defended me during the bank robbery at Raccoon National. You did the one thing most guys - not even Wesker nor Barry could do...you saw through my mask. But most of all...you took me seriously enough for you to train me."

Chris scooted over on the couch, and hugged her close, giving her the support she craved. No, needed.

"You tell anyone about this, I'll kill you," Jill finished, her face buried in Chris' shirt.

Chris looked down at Jill...or rather, the brown mop of hair, as she was still not looking at him. "Thanks for wrecking the moment," he said dryly.

"Sorry," she apologized. "I'm still not used to this...letting my guard down."

"You can do it around me," Chris replied, still holding her. "You think we can start over? I don't want you as just a 'friend with benefits.' I...just want you."

Jill looked at him. "You really mean that? You want just me and only me?"

Chris nodded, giving her that rougish smile that Jill had come to love. "Yeah. I want you...of course, we still can't tell anyone at the office about us," he added, kissing her on the forehead.

"I know," Jill replied, still not letting him go. "Guess this means that we can't sneak around the police station anymore."

Chris chuckled. "We still got my place."

The couple met halfway in a passioned-filled kiss. Jill had moved to a more comfortable position on Chris' lap, wrapping her legs around his waist. After a moment, they backed off for some much-needed air.

"Promise me," Jill whispered. "Promise me that you will never love anyone else...just me."

Without hesitating, Chris replied, "I promise," before kissing Jill once again.

Jill returned the kiss with increasing passion, letting out a soft moan as she felt Chris' hands massage and caress her lower back. During the kiss, he pair had fallen back onto the couch, with Chris on the bottom and Jill on top.

"Remember your promise to me," Jill whispered as they broke off the kiss once again. "You are mine. From the top of your head to the bottom of your feet..." She paused to kiss him again. "Not one hair on your head belongs to another woman."

Jill kissed him again. "You break your promise to me...I'll break every bone in your body," she whispered. "No...on second thought...you even talk to another woman, then I'll kick your ass up and down this town."

Chris smiled. "Can't make a promise that I can't keep, Jill," he replied. "There is my sister and Rita, aside from you."

Jill then let out a squeal as Chris reversed their positions, Jill now found herself pinned under Chris' weight.

"I promised that I will stay loyal to you and love only you," Chris said. Before Jill could say anything, Chris dropped the hammer. "Jill...don't you trust your partner?"

Jill blinked. That one simple question had caught Jill off guard.

And she realized that she did trust him. Not only as her partner, but as a lover and a friend. Chris hadn't broken his word...at least, not yet.

"Yes...I trust you," she whispered.

Then, as Chris had done to Jill, she had reversed their positions, Chris finding himself on the bottom.

"You promised to stay loyal to me," Jill whispered, "then I will do the same to you." She paused to kiss him softly on his lips.

"From the top of my head..."

Kiss.

"...to the bottom of my feet..."

Another kiss.

"...every single part of me, with nothing left out..."

Another kiss.

"...I will stay loyal and love only you, Chris," Jill finished.

The brunette exhaled sharply as she felt Chris' hands slide up her rear, stopping at the small of her back. "You're right about one thing," Jill whispered. "I really am gonna miss sneaking around the police station."

"Never knew you were the adventerous type," Chris replied before kissing Jill once again. "Get up."

Jill did as she was asked. She knew where this would lead up. Once Chris was on his feet, Jill let out another squeal as Chris swept her off her feet bridal-style and carried her upstairs.

* * *

Inside the master bedroom of the Redfield home, two newfound lovers were fast asleep, the bedsheet covering their naked bodies in a show of decency. A trail of clothes led to the bed. Chris was on his back, while Jill was on top, her head resting in the crook of Chris's shoulder and neck. One toned leg was wrapped around his torso, while Chris's own arm was slung over her stomach. Outside, the rain had slowed down considerably, but neither person noticed, as they were both asleep.

It was Chris that had woken up first. He looked at the alarm clock. It was a little past eight in the morning. It took him a moment to shake the cobwebs out of his eyes before the memories of last night came back to him. He smiled a small smile as he remembered both Jill and himself clearing the air between themselves, deciding that they wanted a more deeper relationship based on trust...although lust wasn't that bad of a thing.

It was as if their relationship was given a second light. That, and the lovemaking seemed even much better than before.

Ever since that first night, Jill's naked body was forever burned into his mind. From the curves in her hips to her shapely breasts (Chris deduced that they had to be at least a C cup), to even the tattoo of the tribal phoenix on the small of her back. It was as if Jill was a natural beauty, a living Galatea.

'Best...night...ever...,' Chris thought to himself as he shifted, trying to get himself more comfortable, which was slightly impossible, due to Jill being on him.

"Mmmm...don't move," came the soft whisper.

"You're awake?" Chris asked.

"Yeah," Jill replied softly as she looked at Chris. "You make a nice pillow."

Chris smiled at his lover as he reached up and tucked back several strands of her hair behind one ear, before Jill kissed him, long and slow.

'Stacey is a damn fool for giving Chris up,' Jill thought as she continued to kiss her boyfriend.

Jill, on the other hand, was still basking in the afterglow of their lovemaking. Her body was pleasantly sore. A lazy smile spread scross her face as she remembered the previous night. She was literally putty in his hands. Chris was a combinaton of gentle and fierce. He had literally took her to heaven and hell, making her body feel more alive.

Like Chris, Jill's ecletic memory had memorised every inch and part of Chris' body. She had seen him naked from the waist up the day after the robbery. Since then, she had seen the entire package.

"So how are we going to do this? Keeping this a secret from Wesker and the others?" Jill asked.

"That's already taken care of. You noticed the picture of the redhead on my desk?"

"Kinda hard to miss. So who is she?"

"Her name's Melani," Chris explained. "When I was a freshly-minted officer back in the Air Force, I was stationed over in London. She was a lieutenant in the R.A.F., a couple of years older than me. We dated for a while, but it didn't really work out. She had her career, and I had mine at the time. It was a mutual decision to split, but we remained friends. Then I met Stacey and you know how that worked out for me. The picture of Mel serves as a nice little deflector from the rumor mill inside the R.P.D."

"What does the rumors say about me?" Jill asked.

"Barry says that half of the police force thinks you play for the other team, Wesker included," Chris chuckled.

That caused Jill to erupt in laughter. Chris soon joined her.

After they calmed down, Jill asked, "So...we can't sneak around the police station and Kathy works at the Apple Inn...what now?"

"There's still here and your place," Chris pointed out. "At least your apartment manager was nice enough to give you a year's free rent following the robbery attempt. If anyone from the police station drives by and sees your car, we can tell them that you brought it over to my place for a quick fix-up."

Jill smiled. She was still smiling when she dozed off.

* * *

It was close to eleven when Jill woke up again. This time, she was alone. Deciding that she had spent more than enough time in bed, she got out of the bed. Naked as the day she was born, she stretched, performing her morning calisthethics. Once she had worked the kinks out of her muscles, Jill had noticed that there was a towel in a chair, along with one of Chris' old shirts.

Jill smiled at the gesture. The shirt was a simple dress shirt. On top of that, the shirt was blue - her favorite color. And a shower didn't sound like a bad idea. She just hoped that Chris saved her some hot water.

Five minutes later, Jill exited the bathroom, fresh from the shower, dressed in the shirt that Chris had left out for her. The shirt did a pretty good job of covering her body up, the shirt ending at her thighs. She had buttoned it halfway, revealing an enticing amount of cleavage. The sleeves were rolled up partially, showing off her forearms. Her hair dry, having ran it through the hairdryer minutes earlier.

'Now...where is Chris?'

Fortunately, Chris Redfield was easy to find. He was in the kitchen, naked from the waist up, having only his pair of pants on from the night before. on the phone, chatting with a friend of his, while he made himself some tea. The phone was on speaker, allowing Jill to hear the conversation from both sides. Deciding not to make her prescence known just yet, Jill listened in on the conversation.

"It's best that no one from the police department knows about Jill and I," Chris was saying. "The R.P.D. tends to look down on their employees who are romantically involved, since fraternizing with fellow employees is not allowed."

"Smart move," his friend replied, his Liverpool accent tipping Jill off as to who Chris was talking to.

Jill remembered Chris mentioning a R.A.F. officer by the name of Ed MacPherson. The same person Chris had rescued against orders.

"Then again, that Kelso bitch really hurt you," Ed noted. "I'm surprised that you decided to jump back into the dating game so soon."

"Soon? It's been close to almost a year. And I really don't want to talk about Stacey at the moment. She's somewhere in Raccoon City with her husband."

"Damn, mate. Sucks to be you. So tell me about the woman you hooked up with."

"Her name's Jill. She's pretty cool. Ex-Army. Trained with Delta Force in bomb disposal and marksmanship. Five-foot-eight, short brown hair, blue eyes. Pretty cute. Hot-headed and tempermental at times, but she's a good woman."

Jill's eyebrow cocked upward at that description. Can't blame Chris for that, since she was as Chris described her, so she decided to let that slide.

"Sounds to me like you got a winner. Try not to cock this one up, Redfield."

"I thought you had more faith in me, Ed," Chris shot back. "I did save your ass from bleeding to death."

"Don't remind me. You still got one favor from me for that and one favor only." After a moment, Ed asked, "So...is she wild in the sack?"

Chris nearly choked on his tea, while Jill blushed. "Dammnit, Ed!" Chris cursed at his best friend.

"Ha-ha! She is!" Ed crowed. "I want details, man!"

"That's it, this call is over," Chris declared as he pressed the speaker button, cutting off Ed. "I swear I'm gonna kill that guy one of these days," he muttered.

That was when Jill decided to make her presence known. Sneaking behind the shirtless man, she wrapped her arms around his torso, pressing her body against his bare back. The smell of soap and spice was strong on Chris' bare back.

Jill's presence had brought the evil thoughts of Chris tortuing Evil Ed to a screeching halt.

"Thanks for the shirt," Jill said, kissing his back.

"Thought you might like it," Chris replied as he turned around in the embrace, the cup of tea now forgotten. "Looks better on you than it does on me," he added as he wrapped his own arms around Jill's torso, while trying to keep his eyes on her, rather than her chest. Chris could see that she was naked, since the shirt was halfway done.

"You're letting me keep this?" Jill asked.

Chris nodded. "Like I said it looks good on you..."

Jill squealed as she felt Chris grab her rear, spun her around, and sat her down on the counter.

"...but I like the woman who is wearing it even more," Chris finished, moving his hands from her ass to her back.

Jill smiled sexily as she wrapped her legs around his waist. "Maybe I should take this off then," she whispered as she wrapped her arms around his neck inching her head closer.

"Or you can let me do it for you," Chris replied, meeting Jill halfway.

After a small, sweet kiss, Chris grinned. "Does this mean I can call you Jillianne?"

**SMACK.**

"OW!" Chris yelped as Jill punched him in the arm. It wasn't painful, but it sure as hell stung. "You could have said no. I'm not for 'pain into pleasure,' Valentine."

"Only my dad calls me that, and that's pushing it even for him," Jill replied. "I told you I hate that name."

"Okay, you don't have to try and kill me over it."

"Chris, shut up and kiss me."

"You're real cute when you're aggressive, y'know?"

The kiss was a gentle one, just like the last time. Then it became more urgent as ther tongues fought for dominance. When they finally broke free, it wasn't because of lack of oxygen.

It was because Claire Redfield had walked in on the both of them. Having gotten the weekend off from both her life as a university student and her part-time job as a mechanic in Stone Ville, Claire decided to return to Raccoon City for some much-needed rest and relaxation once the rain had finally decided to let up, allowing her to ride into town.

The last thing Claire was expecting to see was her brother and his half-naked lover making out in the kitchen.

"Hey, big brother, I...HOLY SHIT!" Claire exclaimed, dropping her bags onto the floor.

"You got the worst timing ever, Claire," Jill replied, turning her neck to look at the flabbergasted female Redfield, Chris still having his arms around her waist.

Claire's jaw dropped to the ground upon the. "Bwa...Jill? You and...my brother...?"

Jill turned back to Chris. "I think we broke her," she mused.

Chris laughed at that before resuming kissing his girlfriend, ignoring his sister's outbursts.

* * *

Ten minutes later, Chris, Jill and Claire were in the den. Chris had finally put a shirt on, while Jill had on a pair of pants. The couple was seated on the love seat while Claire was in the armchair.

"So how long have you two been together?" Claire asked.

"Two months," Jill replied.

"Only three people know about us: Barry, Rita and now, you," Chris explained.

"Why all the secrecy?" Claire asked.

"Because inter-office relationships are against the rules in the R.P.D.," Jill explained. "Were anyone to find out about us being more than friends, then we will be in a lot of trouble. Could also lose our jobs."

"Oh, this is so rich," Claire guffawed. "The high and mighty Chris Redfield sneaking around Raccoon City with his partner for a late-night quickie."

Claire's jaw dropped once again at Jill's reply. "Chris and I did just that, sneaking around the R.P.D. for the occasional late-night tryst."

Chris then cut in. "That was how we did for the past two months. We finally sat down and talked about what we wanted out of this relationship last night, which is a relationship based on trust." His hand interlocked with Jill's own, as he looked at Jill and smiled. "I can honestly say that Jill makes me happy...despite all of the sneakng around we have to do."

Claire took a moment to think about what has been revealed to her. She wasn't a prodigy like her brother, but her mind was still incredibly sharp. The younger Redfield saw that her brother was indeed happy with Jill, and those feelings were returned by the former thief. On top of that, Claire also liked the older woman. And given the sacrifices that her brother had done (most of it regarding her), he deserved a bit of happiness.

"Can't believe that I'm saying this," Claire began, "but I got to admit that the both of you look good together." She turned to Jill. "He's been through a lot, Jill. Treat him well, or else I'll show you more than just my marksmanship skills."

Jill nodded. God only knows what else Chris has been teaching Claire. She could just imagine being chased through the streets of Raccoon City with Claire dressed in combat BDUs, her face done up in camo, wielding an assault rifle, laughing maniacally while taking potshots at the one who had hurt her brother.

It was a miracle in itself that Claire hadn't done that to Stacey.

"You won't have to worry about that, Claire," Jill replied. "I love your brother and he loves me. He promised to stay loyal to me and I did the same."

Claire nodded. "That's one thing you can count on. Nine times out of ten, Chris keeps his word. You don't have to worry about me. I'll keep your secret."

"Thanks, Claire," Jill said, Chris also nodding in gratitude. "Some of the folks down at the R.P.D. already hate the fact that Chris and I stopped that bank robbery, thinking that they should be the ones that should have stopped it. That was sheer dumb luck on our end."

"So far, everyone on the force thinks that Jill's a lesbian, and that I'm dating my ex," Chris reported.

"Which ex?" Claire asked. "Melani or the bitch?"

"Melani."

Claire relaxed. "Okay. So long as it's not Stacey. I can't stand that stuck-up bitch."

"You and me both," Jill agreed. "Just how many exes does your brother have?"

"Only Melani and Stacey," Claire replied. "Given my brother's previous occupation, he really didn't have as much time for dating. Melani was pretty cool, and Stacey..."

"I know," Jill said. "I wanted to punch her in the mouth that day inside the restaurant."

Claire grinned. "Oh, I think we're gonna get along just fine, Valentine. Just fine."

Jill returned the smile.

Next Chapter: A series of diary and journal entries spanning the next 8-9 months, ending on the eve of the Spencer Mansion Incident.


	8. 6: Diary and Journal Entries

**Chapter Six: Diary and Journal Entries**

Snafu's Notes: Seeing as this is a Resident Evil fanfic, there will be plenty of diary entries, journal entries and documents galore, in keeping with the tradition of the series. Also, this chapter is kinda short, but it sets the stage for the next chapter. Oh, and special thanks to Ted for helping out with one of the entries.

Spencer Mansion, Arklay Laboratory Meeting Room - October 16, 1997

"This meeting is now in session. Please take your seats so we can begin. Doctor Wesker, so nice of you to join us. As always, everything is classified, Level 5 and above, for your eyes only."

A meeting of the Arklay Laboratory's Biological Weapons Research and Development Staff. Six scientists - one woman and five men, were gathered at the conference room table. The sole female scientists was working a slide projector as the others watched. Among those present were William Birkin and Albert Wesker.

Annette Birkin pressed a button on the remote, changing the picture to that of a sickly-looking Doberman locked inside a cage. "Subject MA Thirty-Nine. Introduced the Tyrant-virus into its bloodstream one month ago. Since then, we have continued to see signs of physical deterioration. Seventy-two hours after exposure, Subject MA-39 showed signs of unprovoked aggression, so we had to sedate it in order to get it back under control."

Annette pressed the button again, showing the same dog, only this time, the dog was anything but. Its eyes were solid white, one ear was missing, as were parts of its skin, showing off muscle and sinew. One side of its ribcage was exposed, and it was trying to chew through the cage's door. "Subject MA-39, one week ago. The signs of physical deterioration gave way to an increase in strength and aggression which seems linked to the decrease in brain acivity. Three hours later, MA-39 was declared deceased. Reanimation occured fifteen minutes later."

Whispers and mumurs were heard throughout the conference room.

"Subject MA-39 was deemed too dangerous to keep around, so by orders of Doctor Birkin and Doctor Wesker, the subject was terminated," Annette continued. "However, one of the security guards was bit on the hand by Subject MA-39, before the subject was finally put down."

The blond woman pressed a button, showing a profile of the injured guard. "Douglas Smith. Age 35. Wife and daughter back in Montpelier. After he was injured, we moved Guard Smith to the infirmiary, where we ran a battery of tests. He tested positive for the T-virus in his bloodstream."

"The past experimentations we have used the T-virus on dead flesh and various animals," Wesker interrupted. "Here, we had a chance to monitor the T-virus on a live human being. Continue, Dr. Birkin."

Annette nodded and pressed the button. The next picture was that of Guard Smith bedridden, with scientists in HAZMAT suits checking on him. "Guard Smith, now Subject Zero, revealed much in dealing with a live specimen infected with the T-virus. We have seen what the T-virus can do when exposed to dead tissue, such as producing enough energy to power the lower functions."

Wesker looked over his notes. "Subject Zero has provided us with copious amounts of research data. CAT Scans indicate that once the virus makes contact with the cell's membrane, it inserts its own genetic coding into the cell, which absorbs the viral genome into its own genetic makeup, thus taking over the functions of the cell. The cell itself produces offspring of the original virus, which are then released from the host cells and infect the neighboring cells, which starts the process all over again."

As Wesker spoke, Annette changed the picture. It was a CAT Scan of Subject Zero's brain.

"Subject Zero reports flu-like symptoms," Birkin continued, looking over his own notes. "Fever, swelling of the joints, itchy skin, all of which has been documented and noted. Subject Zero had to be sedated when he began to freak out after seeing a chunk of rotted flesh falling from his left leg. As noted with Subject MA-39, we noticed loss of epidermal layers of skin, the result of the virus breaking down the cells leading to the inevitable breakdown of the host, hence the necrosis. The virus incorporates itself into the host's DNA, which in layman's terms, alters it."

A nod to Annette was his signal for her to continue. "It was later revealed that the virus destroys all higher brain transmissions, which leaves only the cerebellum to govern behavior. As the virus spreads, it damages the hypothalmus, which produces a massive flood of neurotransmitters, enzymes and hormones such as norepinephrine and dopamine. In other words, combined with the painful symptoms of the infection, induces a psychotic rage and increased aggressiveness in the infected party, as it has done with Subject Zero."

Annette changed the picture. It showed Subject Zero, dead in his bed. "Subject Zero, 72 hours ago. Zero brain activity, blood pressure zero. Subject Zero was declared clinically dead on 13 October, 1997." The next picture was that of Subject Zero, struggling against its bonds. "Subject Zero, 69 hours ago. Reanimation timed at two hours, fifty-six minutes. Officer Alias from Security was called in to put Subject Zero down with a cattle prod. Once Subject Zero was safely contained, we transported its body to the secondary observation room to conduct further tests."

Annette cut off the slide projector and turned on the video projector. Seconds later, the video came on. Said video was that of Subject Zero trying to break through the safety glass. Its deathly pale skin had taken on a reddish hue, its fingernails lenghened into sharp claws. It was roaring, showing off its elongated canine teeth as it tried to punch through the glass.

Annette paused the video. "Subject Zero, 67 hours ago. One of the scientists managed to retrieve blood, bone and tissue samples from Subject Zero before it revived. What we have learned from studying it is extraordinary. Subject Zero is rapidly mutating due to the T-virus becoming hyperactive. Within one hour, the the skeletal and muscular systems has been virtually reconstructed to a more stronger and durable form. The development can easily been seen in the form of sharp canine teeth, and claws on its hands, as well as fresh blood seeping into the remaining skin, hence its reddish color. Despite all of these advancements, its decomposition rate is acclelerated further. Further studies shows that Subject Zero also has a slight increase in intelligence, as well as a major increase in both aggressiveness and agility."

"We are calling this cellular mutation 'V-ACT,'" John Howe, a scientist from the Chicago office noted. "The techs nicknamed Subject Zero 'Crimson Head,' in response to its appearance. "Further attempts to retrieve samples from Subject Zero have proven to be all but failures, as Subject Zero literally tears them apart. So far, it has killed at least four of the researchers. Doctor Birkin, if you may?"

Annette nodded and resumed the video. At the far end of the observation room, a live pig was shoved into the room from a side door. Within seconds, the Crimson Head was upon the unfortunate animal, literally ripping it apart before consuming the flesh. One of the scientists grew pale and proceeded to empty the contents of his stomach into the wastebasket. The video feed was then cut, and the lights came back on the room.

"What is the status of Subject Zero?" Wesker asked.

"Still being confined in the observation room, sir," John replied.

"We can't destroy it, since it can still be of use for further experiments," Wesker pointed out.

"I agree with Doctor Wesker," Birkin concurred. "As of this moment, Subject Zero is now designated 'Crimson Head Prototype One.' He will be put in stasis and placed inside the holding cell in the mansion's graveyard. We'll use the four masks to lock it in until we can proceed with further testing. In the meantime, I will contact Chief Irons and have the R.P.D. spin a story saying that Subject Zero and the others were killed during the flood. This meeting is now adjourned."

With the exception of Wesker and Birkin, the four scientists exited the room, Annette was the last to leave. Once she was gone, Wesker turned to his longtime friend. "You were planning on conducting tests on the G-virus without me? You know as well as I do that the virus is entirely too unstable to be tested on."

"Al, I know you have your concerns," Birkin insisted, "but I feel that now would be the time to start small on the G-virus. Then we move onto bigger things. By the time the shareholders hold their next meeting, we could be on the executive board."

"Are you joking? We just barely scratched the surface with the T-virus and even with Marcus' notes, we still don't know the full extent of the T-virus's capablilities," Wesker insisted. "All I'm asking is that we hold off on conducting tests on the G-virus, until research on the T-virus is complete. Consider it a favor from an old friend."

Birkin leaned back in his chair. "Annette said the same thing. Fine, I'll suspend the research on the G-virus and focus on the T-virus...for the time being."

"Good to see you're thinking clearly," Wesker noted. "I'm thinking that maybe this has gone to your head."

Birkin ignored the insult. "Speaking of projects...how is our little side project coming along?" he asked.

Wesker knew what he was talking about. "You read my report. Seventeen years is a long time."

"But time well spent," Birkin pointed out. "It was unexpected."

Wesker nodded as he adjusted his shades. "She had grown by leaps and bounds. Stronger and more agile than the others. She has shown great potential. Even more so than Trevor. Soon, White Umbrella will take notice."

"Does she know that you're part of Umbrella?" Birkin asked.

"No one does, and I would like to keep it that way. In the meantime, I'll continue to monitor her and when the time comes...she will come to our side once she sees what we have to offer."  


* * *

  
From the diary of Jill Valentine...

_January 1, 1998_

_Nearly three months and Chris and I are still going on strong. Of course, we still kept our relationship hidden from the others, despite Chief Irons relaxing the rules regarding inter-office relationships. The first week alone six guys and two female officers asked me out on a date. I shot them all down. If only they knew that I was dating my partner. So far, Wesker is still in the dark, assuming that he follows the rumor mill at the R.P.D., as is the rest of Alpha and Bravo Teams. Enrico's starting to get a bit suspicious, but Chris managed to deflect all comers. _

_Of course now we can't sneak around the R.P.D. like we used to. But we still hide out down at the Apple Inn once a month during the weekend. Kathy was very understanding in our relationship, and turned a blind eye to our little romantic trysts. _

_Chris and I spent the holidays together. Claire even made the trip from Stone Ville to celebrate the festivities with Chris and I. Aside from that, Chris also escorted me to the R.P.D. Christmas Party. Gotta admit that having half of the police force thinking that you're a lesbian and the only men you can actually stand are your co-workers and is pretty amusing. _

_Aside from Rita, Barry, Kathy and Claire, another person found out about us. Chris and I had overnight duty and Marvin walked in on the both of us while we were making out inside the guardroom. Luckily for us, he decided to keep his mouth shut. I think Rita had been a factor in his decision. Smart move for him._  


* * *

  
From the journal of Chris Redfield...

_February 16, 1998_

_Spent Valentine's Day with Jill. We talked about it and decided that given the four-day weekend that Alpha Team had earned, we decided to a little romantic getaway down in Exeter. _

_Exeter and Raccoon City are sister cities, having been built at the same time. While Raccoon had the backing of Umbrella, Exeter was known as a resort town, given its two ski resorts and a nice little hot springs resort. I know this because Dad would sometimes bring the family here when I was younger. Didn't know about the military base, though. Jill wanted to visit the hot springs, so I reserved a room there._

_Jill was all for it. Of course, everyone was still in the dark about us. So Jill told everyone that she was visiting an old Army buddy of hers who had just moved to Denver, while I said that I had unfinished business regarding my Air Force career, and that I was to report to Colorado Springs._

_Jill left four hours before I did. Then I followed her to Exeter. _

_As it turned out, the reservations had accidentally reserved our room to someone else, so they gave us one of the bungalows near the hot springs, at half price. Yay me. Jill was waiting for me, as I had called her when I arrived in town. Glass of champagne in one hand, and scantily clad in negligee, she greeted me at the door. _

_Good thing the bungalow was soundproof. _

_Whenever we were not in bed, we took in the sights of the town. I am happy to say and Jill enjoyed herself. That was how we spent the four days - either in bed or in the town. But Jill enjoyed herself, I'm glad to say, as did I. We definitely got to come back here. Maybe we'll spend Christmas here. I'll bet Jill would like that._

_Sadly, we have to return to Raccoon City tomorrow, and continue as if had nothing had happened. Too bad, cause I really like it here._  


* * *

  
From the diary of Jill Valentine...

_April 7, 1998_

_Even now as I write, my hand can't stop shaking._

_Right now, I'm inside the R.P.D.'s overnight room. Chris is in the bunk bed above me, and I can hear Rita and Branagh at the table chatting. I guess I should start from the beginning. Back when I was in the Army, as you already know, I was dating a lacrosse player naked Mike Fulman. One night, he invited me to a party and tried to rape me. I fought him off and he was arrested, tried and sent to prison._

_You can say that my past has come back to haunt me._

_Earlier that night, Chris and I had our first big fight concerning our relationship. I wanted to make our relationship public, while he wanted it to keep it a secret from Wesker and the others. I had to admit that he had brought up some good points, but in the end, I was too stubborn to admit that he was right._

_So he left my apartment in a huff._

_Then, five minutes later, my door was kicked in and I saw that it was Mike. He had planned on finishing what he had started...or worse._

_I suspected that he was on something, since my punches didn't have no effect on him. I smacked him over the head several times with a frying pan, and that only stunned him. I tried going for my gun, but he took that from me and overpowered me. He...ripped my shirt off and made his intentions clear._

_He was going to kill me, after raping me._

_Thank God Chris forgot his keys. _

_Chris returned to my apartment and charged head-on into my ex. The apartment was trashed, but in the end, Chris was standing tall, while Mike was out cold. Chris handcuffed his hands to the front (mainly because Chris had dislocated one of Mike's shoulders in the fight), checked up on me, and called for backup. Barry was the first to arrive, followed by Rita and Branagh. Wesker was out of the country for a funeral. _

_Outside, as Chris and I were getting patched up, Mike was being hauled out by Kevin and Elran. He saw Chris and me and in a rage, knocked Kevin out and retrieved Elran's sidearm. He tried to get a shot off on Chris and me, but Chris was faster. He yanked out Barry's Colt Python from his holster and fired. The round staggered Mike, but he kept on coming. Chris unloaded the revolver, with the final bullet going into Mike's head, literally blowing his brains out. _

_It was while at the police station, that I got the full story. Mike had broken out of prison and had found out that I was in Raccoon City. Whether it was from stopping the robbery at Raccoon National, I will never know. One thing for certain is that he killed a woman for her car and money and drove to the city. There, he literally stalked me, waiting for the moment to strike. This was the first time that he followed me to my home._

_The autopsy showed that Mike was on PCP at the time of death. Which explained why he took six rounds from a Magnum. Of course with the amount in his system, he would have been dead in a couple of hours anyway._

_Since the shooting was self-defense, both Chief Irons and the D.A. ruled it a justifiable homicide on Chris' part. Wesker even praised Chris for defending me. Of course, the near-rape has left me shook up, which is why I'm here. _

_It just the fact that I was so helpless that makes me so mad. But I also know that were it not for Chris' training, things could have been much more worse. _

_Shortly after arriving here, Barry had notified me that I will be seeing the shrink. As if I didn't need anymore headaches. Suprizingly enough, Wesker backed Barry's decision. I swear...I know Barry means well, but sometimes, I just want to kick his ass to the moon._  


* * *

  
From the journal of Chris Redfield...

_May 21, 1998_

_The big story of the hour was the mauled body of a female hiker found on the banks of the Marble River near the Arklay Trail. Reports indicate she was attacked by a wild bear, or a pack of wolves. That was yesterday. While Rita and some of the others were working that case, Jill and I were sent to Raccoon University to pick up the newest recruit to S.T.A.R.S. _

_Much to the surprise of Jill and myself, our newest recruit was an eighteen-year-old prodigy with a background in chemistry and medicine. She introduced herself as Rebecca Chambers. Fresh-faced and a recent graduate from the police academy, she was recruited into S.T.A.R.S. for her skills in biochemistry. In some ways, she reminds me of Claire, trying to prove herself. Rebecca explained that her ambition was to become a doctor, but she didn't qualify for a medical scholarship. This is where the R.P.D. comes in. In exchange for six years of service, the R.P.D. would pay for Rebecca's tutoring. Rebecca agreed._

_As it turns out, Rebecca is from Stone Ville. That and she is well aware of both Jill and her dad's reputation as thieves. Fortunately, the Chambers have no love for Sheriff Carter and his lackeys. We brought her back to the R.P.D. and Wesker assigned her to Bravo Team, as Edward's partner. But as a fellow prodigy, Rebecca often came to me for advice. Plus, it was fun to debate with her on scientific matters. _

_Jill, thankfully, is not jealous of my friendship with Rebecca. One of her more endearing qualities is that she trusts me. I think I kinda cemented that when I shot her crazy ex-boyfriend. Speaking of boyfriends, Jill had pulled me to the side and talked about our relationship. She was still adamant about making our relationship public, while I reminded her that in doing so, Wesker might send me to Bravo Team...or worse, pull me out of S.T.A.R.S. altogether._

_But...in the end, I agreed. Of course, we will not tell Wesker and the others right away. We just simply needed some more time to figure out how to break the news to the others...and hope that the fallout won't be as bad. _

Snafu's Notes: Catch the RE5 reference in the Crimson Head Prototype's name? I used the last names of Wesker and Chris's RE5 voice actors (Roger Smith and D.C. Douglas) for the name. Oh, and the effects on the T-virus - all true. The info I got from RE Wiki.

Next Chapter: Chris reflects on his and Jill's experience inside the Spencer Mansion. A secret about Jill is revealed...and no, she is not Wesker's love child.


	9. 7: Spencer Mansion: Aftermath

**Chapter Seven: The Spencer Mansion - Aftermath**

Snafu's Notes: Here we go. With this chapter, we are stepping into the world of Survival Horror. I am following the Gamecube version of Resident Evil with a bit of the classic version mixed in...with a bit of Snafu flair.

Redfield Home - August 6, 1998.

Chris Redfield looked in on his sleeping girlfriend. She was in his bed, dressed in one of his T-shirts and a pair of panties. For the past several days, Jill had nightmares of that fateful night inside that damned mansion. Chris was no different. Only difference was that he did not wake up screaming. Seeing as how Jill was still fast asleep, Chris decided to leave her be.

Walking downstairs, Chris entered his study, but kept the door open. Taking a seat behind his desk, Chris opened the first drawer and pulled out two items. The first was a gun box, containing his father's M1911 pistol, matte black still in working condition. Chris regarded the weapon for a moment. The M1911 pistol had quite a history behind it. The first owner was his grandfather, Callahan Redfield, who had emigrated from Scotland to America. It was issued to him during the Second World War, where he served with the Army, surviving until the end of the war.

The gun was then passed onto his father, Lawrence Redfield, who had carried it with him during his tour in the Navy. Now, it belonged to him. Chris picked it up and held it in his hand for a moment, the weight of the weapon giving him some comfort. Like his father and grandfather, Chris had inherited the weapon.

Chris flipped the gun to the opposite side. Etched into the metal slide was a phrase in Latin - 'si vis pacem, para bellum.'

Translated, it meant, 'if you want peace, prepare for war.'

Chris then put the weapon back in its case and closed the gun case. Once the gun was back in the drawer, he turned to the second item on his desk. A green notebook. Resting nearby was his USP pistol, loaded.

The title of the notebook read DAILY REPORT - CHRIS REDFIELD.

Opening his notebook, Chris produced a pen and began to write.

**August 6, 1998**

**Even though it's been nearly two weeks, I still have nightmares about what has happened on that July night. I've been in combat in my days in the Air Force...seen several of my teammates killed in front of me...and even now I wish to be back in the battlefield instead of that damned mansion.**

**I guess I should start from the beginning.**

**It all happened shortly after Rebecca joined S.T.A.R.S. We really didn't think nothing of it. The body of a hiker was found in the forest near the Marble River. The police assumed that she had wandered off of the trail and had a run-in with a bear, since the body had numerous bite marks all over her body. We all had summed it to a bit of bad luck.**

**God, I wish it was just as that.**

**Then...reports of whole families living near the forest...reports of whole families being attacked and slaughtered. The bodies were apparently eaten. Even more weird was that the bite marks appeared to be human. The citizens of the city demanded action. Chief Irons then ordered that the S.T.A.R.S. would work with the regular police in investigating the case.**

**I pushed myself to the limit, working eighteen-hour shifts, until Barry had to order me to get some rest. Claire wanted to come and visit, but I told her to remain in Stone Ville. The people who had lived near the forest began to arm themselves, as did most of the people in the city. The Kendo Gun Shop made some serious cash in the wake of the 'cannibal murders.'**

**On top of that, Chief Irons was acting pretty strange. It became the gossip of the R.P.D. Some said that he was starting to crack under the pressure of trying to find out who was responsible. Come to think about it, I heard from one of the detectives who was passing his office, that he was screaming at one of his secretaries who was only cleaning his office. After kicking out his secretary, he remained in his office for two days. I never really did like that fat fuck, given how I've seen him eye Jill in the past.**

**On top of that, Irene - Irons' chief secretary - had pulled me to the side and let me in on a bit of information. As it turns out, Chief Irons is an avid art lover, and has acquired several pieces of art. Pieces of art which cost a hell of a lot more than what he makes on a police chief's salary. Now that she mentioned, it, I haven't thought about it but the storage room across from Irons' office held some pieces of art. I had shrugged it off as originally the owners of the art museum had forgotten to pick up their remaining pieces.**

**So I sent in an inquiry into Irons' background to a contact I had with the F.B.I. Haven't gotten it back yet. Typical government efficiency. But I'm getting ahead of myself. Back to the matter at hand.**

**We had narrowed down where the attacks were coming from in the Raccoon Forest. Wesker had sent in Bravo Team to neutralize the situation, while Alpha Team was placed on standby.**

[Flashback]

_Raccoon Police Department - July 24, 1998_

_Chris sat inside the cargo area of the R.P.D. helicopter. He was alone with his thoughts. He was also dressed in his standard S.T.A.R.S. uniform - the white long-sleeved T-shirt with the insignia of the Special Tactics and Rescue Service etched onto the sleeves, the sleeves themselves rolled to the elbows, military-grade dark blue cargo pants, and combat boots. The shirt was concealed by his S.T.A.R.S. - issued green combat vest. On his knees, he had on a pair of kneepads. In a leg holster, was his Samurai Edge. The vest contained two knife cases, mementos from his days in the Air Force. The knife case situated on his front left shoulder had a Bowie Knife, while the back case contained his personal favorite - a custom Mercworx Goliath knife with a slightly longer blade. His pair of fingerless gloves were on the seat next to him._

_"Thought I'd find you here."_

_Chris opened his eyes. Standing in the open hatch, was Jill. Like Chris, she was dressed in her own S.T.A.R.S. uniform - a short-sleeved blue shirt with shoulder harnesses secured by several straps, blue military-grade pants and combat boots. Her beret with the S.T.A.R.S. insignia was in her hand. Her own Samurai Edge was secured in a hip holster._

_"Am I that obvious?" Chris asked._

_Jill hopped into the chopper, seated on the opposite side of her boyfriend. "You can say it's one of your more enduring traits," she replied._

_Chris gave her a small smile. Then his face gotten serious. "I got a very bad feeling about this," he confided. "This whole thing stinks to high heaven."_

_"You too? I also got a bad vibe about this," Jill said. "Enrico and the rest of Bravo Team should have been back hours ago."_

_"I wouldn't count Marini out. He's as tough as they come," Chris pointed out. "But Rebecca's still green. In a way, she reminds me of Claire."_

_"You shouldn't worry," Jill said. "'Becca's got Marini and Bravo Team backing her up. She'll be fine."_

_"Wish I could share your sentiment," Chris replied. "Wesker's been acting kinda weird, and Irons has gone nuts."_

_Before Jill could reply to her boyfriend's comment, the helipad's door swung open, and Alpha Team came piling through, being led by Wesker. All of them were clad in their S.T.A.R.S. uniforms._

_"...and does somebody know where the hell is Redfield and Valentine?" Wesker was saying._

_"Right here," Jill called out._

_Wesker looked up and saw both Chris and Jill inside the chopper. "Oh."_

_"What's going on?" Chris asked._

_"Game time, Redfield. We're going in," Wesker said as Brad got into the cockpit and the others began to pile in. "We're to assist Bravo Team and find the source of the attacks. Last known position of Bravo's chopper is in the Arklay Forest."_

[End Flashback]

**En route to Bravo Team's last known location, Wesker had said that their chopper had some sort of engine trouble and had went down. Normally if we lose contact with each other, a distress signal is automatically enabled. Funny how Bravo's distress signal wasn't enabled until after nearly 24 hours the chopper had went down. That looked suspicious. But I kept my mouth shut about it. Something in my gut was telling me that Wesker had something to hide.**

**Sometimes, I really hate being right.**

**The streets of Raccoon City soon gave way to the Raccoon Forest. Five minutes into the flight, our searchlights soon came upon the missing chopper. We landed and found the body of Kevin still strapped in his seat. His throat had been ripped out, his hand missing. Joseph found said hand, still gripping his pistol several yards off, completely mangled.**

**Joseph...damn.**

**They came out of the tall grass...swarmed Joseph. Joseph took three of them down, but there were too many. Joseph was torn apart. I can still hear his screams. Jill...she looked so petrified, firing off her gun even as it clicked empty. I grabbed her, told her to run. She shook out of her shock, and reloaded her gun.**

**We made a break for the chopper, only to find that Bad had already taken off. He had seen Joseph being mauled to death and true to his nickname, left us. Bastard.**

**Wesker shouted for us to head for the mansion for cover. Since I was the better shooter on Alpha Team, I told Jill and Barry to go on and I will cover their escape. Thank God I always carried that machete with me. I heard the door slam as Wesker, Jill and Barry made it inside, leaving me with the devil dogs from hell.**

**I took down three with my Samurai Edge. Then I ran out of ammo. Two remained. I'm not really a religious man, but I can tell you that it was by the grace of the Almighty that Christopher Redfield survived. Of course, I needed to get inside that house. But being a prodigy of my caliber, I managed to outsmart the dogs and killed them off as well with my Goliath. One thing about a blade is that it never needs reloading. After looking around, I found an open window that led into the dining room. I slipped in and slammed the window shut behind me.**

**I...came across Kenneth's body. He was...eaten. I always thought that I would never see the day. But he was eaten by a fucking zombie. The walking dead. Then it came after me...or tried to. I decapitated it with my Goliath, but the head was still alive. I retrieved Kenneth's gun and several clips before putting a bullet into its head.**

**Kenneth. Damn.**

**I backtracked towards the main hall. There, I found Jill.**

[Flashback]

_Jill returned to the main hall following her narrow brush with death. She looked at the shotgun in her hands, thinking how close she was to getting herself killed over the weapon she was currently holding._

_On the opposite side of the hall, the double doors opened and Chris stepped through, gripping his Beretta in both hands, looking worse for the wear, ready for anything._

_"CHRIS!"_

_Almost by reflex, Chris raised his gun, but calmed down when he recognized Jill, thankful that he saw someone still alive. "Jill!"_

_They met at the base of the stairs. Jill dropped the shotgun and threw her arms around her lover, thankful that he was alive. "I thought...I thought those dogs got you," she sputtered, kissing his face before releasing her partner. "How...?"_

_"I got in through an open window inside the dining room," Chris replied. "I got lucky. I used up all of my ammo in my gun, leaving me with my machete." He looked at the Beretta and the two clips in his hand. "I got this from Kenneth. He's dead."_

_"Wesker's gone missing," Jill said. "Barry went off after he saved my life." She looked at the shotgun in her hands. "I almost died because of this damn gun. I set off a trap when I picked this up. If Barry wasn't there to save me..."_

_"Jill," Chris cut in, "there's something wrong with this house. We better stick together here on out. If there are survivors of Bravo Team, then we better find them and hope Brad can get us the hell out of here."_

_Jill nodded. "You're right. We'll kill Brad later You checked upstairs yet?"_

_Chris shook his head. "No. You?"_

_"No. At least you can drop them with a bullet to the head."_

_"Okay. Cover me."_

_Jill nodded as she raised the shotgun, following Chris up the stairs, the deadly weapon aimed towards the door in case anyone who was not human came running through. Chris reached the landing and quickly urned left, ascending the second set of stairs, heading for the second floor's only set of double doors._

_Upon entering through the portal, they found themselves inside the dining room. Or rather, the second floor balcony overlooking the dining room._

_Also present, were two zombies. Within seconds, both fell to the floor in a heap, the victims of two well-placed shots to the head, destroying the brain and bone._

_The only thing that was of interest was a small statue, holding a gem. A statue that was near a part of the railing that had broken._

_Chris looked at the statue and the gem. "Hmm...that looks interesting."_

_Before Jill could comment, the double doors opened and closed, followed by a throaty moan that sent chills down Chris and Jill's spines._

_They both turned towards the doors._

_It was Forest Speyer._

_A zombified Forest Speyer._

_Chunks of flesh was missing from his arms and his cheek, the mouth itself was gone, exposing his teeth, his ribcage was even exposed. One eye was hanging from its stem as he looked at Chris and Jill with his remaining good eye, which was covered with a thin layer of mucus, making it solid white._

_In an instant, Jill had the shotgun raised as Forest made a beeline towards the partners._

_"Jill, NO!" Chris shouted as he kicked the barrel, just as Jill pulled the trigger, causing the shot to do wild, the shotgun pellets embedding themselves into the wall. Chris then drop kicked Forest in the chest, causing the zombified S.T.A.R.S. member to stumble back several steps before falling on his back._

_"What did you do that for?!" Jill shouted._

_Chris pointed to the two bandoliers that were cris-crossed across Forest's chest. "Look. Grenades and Burst Rounds. One bad shot and you would have blown us sky-high. Someone wanted us to die, so they booby-trapped Forest."_

_By this time, Forest had risen to his feet._

_Chris, in the meantime, had unsheathed his Bowie knife. Tossing it in his hand so that he was holding the blade, he took careful aim at the one spot where it wasn't covered in bombs and grenades._

_His head._

_"Sorry, Forest. Nothing personal," he said before he threw the knife._

**_THWACK!_**

_Chris's aim was dead-on as the Bowie's blade embedded itself into Forest's skull. Forest fell to the ground in a heap. He didn't get back up._

_With Forest finally put to rest, Chris began to search his body. First, he gently undid the bandoliers and placed them to the side. Then he began to search Forest's body._

_"Chris, what are you doing?" Jill asked._

_"OSP," Chris replied. "On-site procurement. We don't know what's going on in this nuthouse, and going outside is not an option, we're going to need all of the bullets and weapons we can find. Here." Chris tossed Jill Forest's Samurai Edge. Jill caught it and tucked it into her belt._

_Chris gently rolled Forest's body over. "Hello..."_

_"What?" Jill asked._

_Chris gently plucked Forest's bazooka from its back holster. With a sigh, Chris said, "We'll put this to good use, Forest." After going through Forest's body, he retrieved the burst rounds from the bandoliers and a couple of extra clips for the Beretta. Turning to Jill, he said, "I'll trade ya – the shotgun for the bazooka."_

_"Deal."_

_Once they got everything taken care of, they decided to move out._

[End Flashback]

**Glad to know that my training Jill wasn't a complete waste. She told me that Wesker had disappeared and Barry had rescued her from being crushed to death. This was before we ran into each other inside the main hall. In the next hall, three more zombies awaited. Once they were taken care of we checked the two doors. Both were locked, which meant we had to go downstairs. Aside from two more zombies in the hall, there was a door by the stairs. Turned out that it was a supply and storage room.**

**That was where Jill and I found Rebecca.**

[Flashback]

_The last thing Chris was expecting was to get sprayed in the face with insect repellant._

_"WAUGH!" Chris yelled as he stumbled backwards, falling over the body of the dead zombie, its head blown completely off, landing on his butt. "WHAT THE HELL?!"_

_Holding an empty can of bug spray in one hand, and looking genuinely embarrassed about spraying Chris in the face, was Rebecca Chambers. The youngest of the S.T.A.R.S. unit at the age of eighteen, she was like Chris, a prodigy, with a degree in medical science. Chris took a shine to her. Fortunately, Jill wasn't the jealous type, as she knew that Chris only wanted her._

_"Oh, shit! Chris!" she cursed as both her and Jill helped the blinded man to his feet. "Oh, Chris! I'm so sorry! I thought you were one of them! Jill, help me get him inside."_

_Inside the room, Rebecca treated Chris's injury. Using a bottle of water she had retrieved from her pouch, she rinsed Chris' eyes out._

_"It was only bug spray," the young medic explained. "I kinda ran out of bullets. You should be fine in a couple of minutes."_

_Chris groaned in response._

_"What happened here, Rebecca?" Jill asked._

_"I've been hiding out here all day," Rebecca explained. "I thought that it would be safer here, but instead, I wound up walking into 'Night of the Living Dead.'"_

_"Can you tell us what's happened so far?" Jill asked as she cradled Chris' head in her lap._

_Rebecca nodded. For the next twenty minutes, she told the two everything that has happened to her in the past 48 hours. From investigating a zombie-infested train to teaming up with a framed ex-Marine in order to stop a madman from unleashing the virus onto the city. Suffice to say, both Chris and Jill were impressed with the young rookie's courage. Rebecca also gave them vital information about the T-virus. Created by James Marcus by combining mutated leech DNA and the Progenitor Virus, it was the virus responsible for creating the number of walking dead seen inside the mansion._

_"Is there anyone from Bravo here?" Jill asked._

_Rebecca shook her head. "I lost contact with the others a long time ago. Edward...Edward's dead. He turned into...into a zombie back on the train...I had no choice..."_

_Chris, having risen to a seated position, nodded in understanding. "Don't worry about that. In any case, you have done Edward a great service. No one deserves to be cursed to that existence. Jill and I found Forest the same way as well. I had to put him down as well."_

_"We found Kevin's body inside the chopper," Jill continued. "We lost Joseph on the way in. Chris found Kenneth's body."_

_"What was left of him, anyway," Chris added. "Here. You're gonna need this," he said, handing Rebecca some ammo for her Beretta._

_"Thanks," Rebecca said, accepting the ammo. "So...what do we do now?"_

_"We find any survivors, call for Brad, then get the hell out of here," Chris said firmly._

_"Sounds like a plan," Rebecca said._

[End Flashback]

**At least I didn't have to worry about Rebecca. After what she had been through, she could most certainly hold her own. I'd say in the next room over we found out some interesting information about what we were facing, as well as a new and dangerous enemy.**

[Flashback]

_The next room contained a bed, a desk and a closet. On the floor, was a body, long since dead, its head missing._

_"We can rest for a moment in here," Chris said as he, Rebecca and Jill made sure that the room was cleared. "How much ammo you got left?"_

_Jill inspected her reserves. "Two clips left."_

_Chris fished out three more clips for her Beretta and handed them over. "Here. These should help."_

_"Thanks," Jill replied as she pocketed the ammo._

_THUMP._

_The sound came from the closet. As the two women and Chris turned towards the closet, its double doors swung open, revealing another zombie._

_Only thing was, that this zombie was more different that the ones already encountered inside the house. Its skin had taken on a more reddish hue. The one thing that stuck out was the claws on its fingers._

_With a half-moan/half-roar, the enhanced zombie made a beeline towards Jill and Rebecca. Rebecca had literally hopped over the bed, while Jill had narrowly avoided the wild claw swing to her head, the claws raking her shoulder harnesses, leaving Jill unscathed._

_Chris reacted quickly. Before the zombie could attack Jill yet again, Chris had reached behind his back and drew his Goliath. Brandishing the blade in one hand, he got the super zombie's attention. "Hey! Ugly! Over here!"_

_The zombie then turned to Chris, and charged._

_Once the zombie was close enough, Chris reacted. Jill watched as Chris thrusted upward with the Goliath, the blackened carbon steel slicing through rotting flesh, cartilage and bone as if it were a hot knife through butter, starting from the bottom of its jaw before ending at its skull._

_To make sure that the zombie was dead, Chris yanked his machete out and decapitated it._

_The zombie fell to the ground in a heap, the head rolling to a stop inside the closet._

_Jill looked at the downed zombie, then back at Chris, who was wiping the blade onto the bedsheets. "Thanks."_

_Chris sheathed his weapon. "That's two you owe me, Jill. You okay?"_

_Jill nodded. "I'm fine."_

_Rebecca, in the meantime, looked at the zombie. "This is new. I never seen a zombie move so fast before. What the hell happened here?"_

_"Hmm...what's this?" Chris said as he noticed a leather-bound book on the desk. Picking it up, he began to leave through the pages. "Hey, I found something. It's a journal. Maybe it can shed some light as to what the fuck is going on here."_

_With Jill and Rebecca looking over his shoulder, Chris reached the last entries of the book and began to read out loud._

_"'9 May 1998 – had poker night inside the Piano Lounge with Steve from Research and those two guys from the Security Department, Scott and Alias. Steve was the big winner, but I think the fucking scumbag was cheating.'"_

_Jill and Rebecca managed to crack a smile. The first smile she ever made since entering the mansion._

_That smile faded as Chris continued to read. "'10 May – Edwards, one of the leading researchers, assigned a new creature for me to look after. I swear, the Goddamned thing looked like a skinless gorilla. She also told me to feed it live animals. I let loose a pig inside the creature's pen and damn near lost my lunch as I watched the creature play with it. It ripped the pig's legs off and gutted the pig before it started eating.'"_

_"'Skinless gorilla?'" Rebecca repeated. "Must have been an Eliminator. Billy and I ran into a couple back at the other lab."_

_Jill blanched. "That's sick."_

_"Yeah," Chris agreed. "No kidding." He read the next entry. "'11 May – Scott came rushing into my room at about five this morning. Scared the shit out of me too. Said something about an accident in the labs. He was wearing a protective suit and handed me another one, telling me to put it on. Something told me that something like this was going to happen. I swear, those damn Research bastards work 24/7, even on holidays.'"_

_Chris flipped the page. "'12 May – Been wearing this goddamn spacesuit since yesterday morning, and now my skin feels grimy and itchy all over. Fuckin' guard dogs been looking at me funny, so I decided not to feed 'em. Screw those mangy mutts.'" He turned the page. "'13 May – My back feels itchy all over, so I went to the infirmary. Doc Guillory placed a big bandage on my back and told me that I didn't need to wear the freakin' spacesuit anymore. Finally...all I want to do right now is sleep.'"_

_Chris turned the page. Both he and Jill noticed that the writing was starting to get even more and more sloppier. "'14 May – Found another big-ass blister on my foot. Hurts like hell when I walked. I ended up dragging my bad foot to the dogs' pen. Those mutts had been quiet all day. I found out later that some of them have escaped. If the big bosses finds out about this, they'll have my head on a silver platter.'" He turned the page. "'15 May – still feel like shit, but decided to head into the city anyway to visit Nancy. I was stopped by some of the guards, who said that no one is allowed to leave the grounds. All of the phones have been confiscated, pulled right out of the jacks! What kind of bullshit is this?!'"_

_"Okay," Jill said. "This is bad."_

_Chris nodded and continued to read. "'16 May – I heard from Alias that the guards shot and killed a researcher as he tried to escape the grounds. My body feels so damn hot and itchy all of the time, like I got a fucked-up case of the flu! And just now, a piece of rotten flesh fell off my arm when I scratched at the swelling! What the fuck is happening to me?'"_

_Chris turned the page. Now the writing looked like as if a pre-schooler had written the final entries. "'19 May – fever gone, but itchy. Hungry and eat doggie food. 21 May – Itchy itchy Scott came ugly face so killed him. Tasty.'"_

_Chris turned to the final entry. "'Itchy...'"_

_Jill finished for him. "'Tasty.'"_

_They both exchanged worried glances before turning to the dead zombie on the floor. As Chris closed the journal, a scrap sheet of paper fell from the pages. Jill snatched it from the air and began to read it. It was some sort of communique._

_"Chris, listen to this," Jill began. "'We have new information regarding those 'beings.' They may appear to be dead, but in fact they are able to return to life. However, there are ways to prevent them from becoming active again. Currently there are two known methods to cease their resurrection – incineration or destruction of the head. If further methods are discovered, they will be notified immediately. Meanwhile to those of you who still have the will to live, oil has been placed on the first floor of the mansion. Take as much as you need. You'll need something to light it with, which you'll need to find by yourself**.**'"_

_"So we need to either smash their heads or barbecue them so they won't come back to life," Rebecca said. She looked at the downed super zombie on the ground. "Otherwise...we deal with that."_

_"Seems that way," Jill replied. She patted to the bazooka that was slung over her shoulder. "I got enough incendiary rounds as well as some grenades."_

_"Looks like I'll make do with the shotgun," Chris said._

[End flashback]

**With Rebecca on my team, I felt a bit better about our chances for surviving. Of course, that mood took a serious swan dive towards rock bottom when we discovered several notes and documents which helped shed some light on this place.**

**The mansion was owned by Umbrella, more specifically, one of its founders, Ozwell E. Spencer. In the 1960's, he had hired an architect by the name of George Trevor to design and build the mansion, complete with its many secrets that only Spencer and Trevor know about, including some of the traps seen inside. Spencer, as it seems, had an ulterior motive. He told Trevor that the mansion would be used not only as his summer home, but as a resort for high-ranking Umbrella personnel.**

**But the mansion held its own dark secret that not even Trevor himself knew about. A secret that Spencer was willing to kill for.**

**Spencer went on to invite Trevor's wife and daughter to the mansion. They would soon disappear several days later upon their arrival. Underneath the mansion, was a hidden laboratory, where Spencer had used Trevor's wife and daughter for his twisted research. Trevor's wife died, but his daughter, Lisa...became a monstronsity, one that Jill and I had ran into during our time inside the mansion. She especially went after Jill and Rebecca, for reasons I do not know.**

**As for Trevor himself, he would starve to death within the corridors of the mansion. Jill and I would find his remains in front of his grave marker. Spencer had set him up to die and to make his family disappear in order to tie up loose ends.**

**It was also the first time I've seen Jill actually break down in tears. We were exploring the east wing of the mansion when we came inside a room. Inside was the body of a scientist, dead for several weeks. He had blown his own brains out in a successful attempt to keep from becoming one of the undead. On his desk, was a suicide note, written to his girlfriend.**

[Flashback]

_Jill noticed the folded sheet of paper resting on the desk. Curious, she picked it up and scanned the name. It was addressed to a woman named Alma. She unfolded the letter and began to read it._

_My dearest Alma,_

_I hope that this letter will find you, but even now, I fear that will not be possible. The simple fact that if you manage to receive this letter is both joyful and sad for me. So please, for my sake, be calm and read this. I was unable to reach you sooner, mainly because of my job and because of some guy in the sunglasses. Umbrella...the company that I've been working for...they head-hunted me, recruited me to work in their labs outside the city._

_Last month...there was an accident inside the labs. The virus we were studying...researching...it had escaped. All of my colleagues, or most of them, have been killed. But death was not the end. The virus revived them, not living, but in fact, the walking dead. I can hear them outside my locked door. Wailing...moaning...trying to get inside. But they can't. They're wandering around the mansion, no sign of intelligence in their eyes. That damned virus has completely robbed them of their humanity...love...joy...sorrow...even fear and humor...for all eternity._

_The test came back positive for me. Yes, Alma. I'm also infected. I have the same symptoms that my co-workers have before they succumbed to the virus. I did everything that I could, but I could only delay the inevitable, if only for a few days. The memories of the days that I've spent with you..._

_What is most frightening is that as each day passes, the virus takes hold and I forget about you more and more. Which is why I came to this decision. I will have chosen a peaceful death, rather than to become one of the walking dead. Within the hour, I will have entered my eternal sleep. Please understand my decision...and please forgive me._

_Eternally yours,_

_Martin Crackhorn_

_Rebecca, in the meantime, was inspecting the body. "Self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head. Not much of his brain left. Death was instant."_

_Chris then turned to Jill, hearing her sniffle. "Jill? Valentine? You okay?"_

_Jill took a seat on the bed. She wiped her eyes with the back of her gloved hand. "I...I can't help but to think...his last thoughts were of his lover before he pulled the trigger."_

_Chris gently took Crackhorn's note from Jill's hand. After reading it, he folded it back up and placed it onto the desk. "He was one of the lucky ones. No one should suffer that fate." He then turned to Jill. Grabbing on her arms, he gently lifted her to her feet. "Jill...do you trust me?"_

_Jill looked at her partner/lover and nodded. "I trust you," she replied._

_"Do you trust me enough when I say that we're gonna find Barry and the others and get the hell out of here?"_

_Again, Jill nodded._

_"I can't have you breaking down now, Valentine," Chris said, placing one hand on her shoulder. "I need both you and Rebecca to watch my back. Okay?"_

_"Yeah...yeah..."_

_"I got my sister waiting for me, and you got your father. That's more than enough inspiration to get us through this, okay? We do not have the option of failing. Okay?"_

_"You're right, Chris," Jill said, her voice more firm. "You're right."_

[End Flashback]

**Jill managed to bring her A-game to the plate. But I did see her slip Crackhorn's suicide note into her pocket. I guess it was some kind of a motivator for her to stay alive.**

**We found Richard near the mansion's attic. He was in pretty bad shape. Said something about being bitten by a giant mutant snake. Turns out the big-ass snake in question was guarding one of three keys that allowed us to enter the garden. We managed to save Richard's life, thanks to Rebecca pilfering a vial of serum and several syringes from the supply room before we left. I guess that the T-virus also has mutagenic properties when certain organisms are exposed to it.**

**By the time Alpha Team was called in, the virus thankfully burned itself out, so an airborne contamination was out of the question. That means we can only get infected by direct contact.**

**It still hurts, remembering those who had died in that cursed place. Richard gave his life in order to save Jill's while they were investigating the Aqua Ring underneath the guardhouse. From what Jill had told me, he had pushed her out of the way just as the shark attacked, taking him under. Rebecca and I had our hands full with the oversized plant project known as 'Plant 42.' And those bioweapons Umbrella worked on...one of them stuck out in particular for me.**

**The Hunters.**

**That was where I saw Jill take out two in rapid succession. I knew she was good, but what I saw was just...wow.**

[Flashback]

_THUMP. THUMP. THUMP._

_Chris turned around. A wounded Hunter had just rounded the corner._

_And it was approaching Jill._

_"JILL! BEHIND YOU!" Chris screamed._

_Time slowed down as to what had happened next. Jill spun around and saw the Hunter as it picked up speed, ignoring the blood that was pumping from its wounds, it let out a screech as it lunged forward, its intention to decapitate Jill._

_Time slowed down as to what had happened next._

_Jill jumped backwards, just as the Hunter lunged at her. Jill landed on her shoulders, back bent so that she was looking at her knees, just as the Hunter's claw sailed past where her head was at moments earlier. Showing off her athletic ability, she placed her hands on either side of her head, thrusted her legs upwards and outwards, while pushing herself off the floor with her hands and shoulders, using her own momentum to launch herself into the air feet-first, back arched, until she landed on her feet._

_As she landed on her feet from her performing a textbook-perfect rising handspring, otherwise known as a suicide kip-up, she shouted to Chris to throw her his gun._

_Chris tossed her one fully-loaded Samurai Edge, which she caught with one hand as she pulled out her own. Spinning around, not realizing that her beret had fallen from her head, she opened fire on the wounded Hunter. Chris counted twelve shots - six from each Beretta, the parabellum rounds tearing into where the lungs would be, right before performing a reverse roundhouse kick, her booted foot crashing into the side of the Hunter's head with brute force, the sickening CRACK revealed that Jill had broken its neck._

_A second Hunter had approached from behind Jill. She spun around, using the remaining bullets in her Berettas, right before performing a second reverse roundhouse that caused it to stagger backwards._

_Jill then flipped into the air, landing on top of the Hunter, her thighs between its head. A second CRACK was heard as she violently twisted her body to one side, snapping the second Hunter's neck like a twig, right before hopping forward, rolling off the floor, and coming to a stop on her feet._

_"Whoa," was all Chris had said._

_Jill took a moment to get her heartbeat down as she took in what has happened. She had killed two Hunters in rapid succession. Once her breathing was back under control, she realized that her beret was not on her head. Looking down, she retrieved it and placed it back on her head, before tossing Chris the empty gun._

_"Come on," Jill said. "Let's go."_

[End Flashback]

**The Hunters. According to the files I've read, they were developed for Umbrella's bioweapons division, a combination of reptilian DNA, a fertilized human egg and the T-virus. One hundred percent lethal. And that's not counting the zombified dogs, an even more deadlier version of the Crimson Head, the giant poisonous spiders, and the rabid crows. After cleaning out the mansion of weapons and ammo, we entered the sewers. It was there, we found Barry. Or rather, Jill found Barry. Rebecca and I found Enrico.**

**Enrico...he was in bad shape. He spoke of a traitor within the S.T.A.R.S., thought it was me. He tried to shoot me, but someone else had put a bullet in his head from behind me and Rebecca. At the same time, Jill and Barry had a final encounter with Lisa Trevor. Jill later told me that she had tossed her mother's skull into the abyss, and Lisa went right after it.**

**Barry, Rebecca, Jill and myself...we met at the hidden lift that would lead to the Umbrella Laboratory. This time around, we decided to stick together.**

**Venturing deeper into the labs, we found bodies of zombified test subjects, scientists and security personnel. At least ammo for the Berettas wouldn't be a problem. But then, we discovered the ultimate betrayal, lying inside a conference room.**

[Flashback]

_The four surviving S.T.A.R.S. members were taking a much-needed breather inside an empty lab room. A room that looked like a conference room, complete with a projector._

_After fighting off the monstrosity that was Lisa Trevor, Jill and Barry had reunited with Chris and Rebecca, Chris looking a bit worse for the wear following his run-in with Plant 42, after being slammed to the ground._

_"This is it?" Chris asked the remaining three S.T.A.R.S. members. "Where the hell is Wesker?"_

_"He bailed after I ran into him back inside the guardhouse," Jill replied. "He's been acting rather strange lately."_

_"You guys, I found something," Rebecca said, waving a sheet of paper, which turned out to be a fax. The remaining Bravo Team member began to read from the fax. "'X-Day is drawing upon us. Execute the following procedures within one week. Prompt actions are demanded. 1 – Lure S.T.A.R.S. to the estate, and obtain B.O.W.'s raw combat data against S.T.A.R.S. 2 – Collect two embryos of each mutated specimens as samples, excluding the Tyrant. Dispose of the Tyrant. 3 – Ensure complete disposal of the Arklay Laboratory including all personnel and test animals. Disguise their deaths as an accident. When the above procedures are executed, report to headquarters for further instructions.'"_

_"We've been set up," Chris growled._

_Rebecca nodded. "Umbrella is behind this. Someone led us here."_

_Jill slammed her fist onto the desk. "Dammit!"_

_This little action, however, caused the projector to come on, the lights dimming automatically, the first slide was the title - 'Umbrella Bio-Organic Weapon Official Report'_

_Jill found the remote and pressed the button. The second slide was entitled MA-39 CERBERUS, complete with a picture of the skinless, zombified guard dogs Chris and the others had seen running wild all over and outside the mansion._

_Slide number three was that of the massive Great White Shark that had nearly killed Jill back in the Aqua Ring, codenamed Fi-3 NEPTUNE. The fourth slide was that of the deadly reptilian-like creatures that had tried to decapitate Jill, known as the MA-121 HUNTER._

_Jill pressed the button, revealing a massive figure inside a stasis tube, with the codename T-001 TYRANT. Frowning, Jill pressed the button, revealing an empty slide. When she pressed it again, the picture that came up had the caption 'Bio-Weapon Research Institute. R and D Staff.'_

_Six scientists – one woman and five men stood for the photo. Chris recognized one of the men as William Birkin from his previous encounter several months prior. But one man stood out from all the rest._

_The slicked-back blond hair and the expensive shades were a dead giveaway as to who the other person was._

_"Son..." Jill muttered._

_"...of a..." Rebecca breathed._

_"...bitch," Chris finished._

_"It was Captain Wesker all along," Rebecca said as the projector cut off and the lights came back on. "Wesker set us up."_

_Chris and Jill turned to Barry, who was surprisingly quiet throughout this little revelation. "You knew about this!" Jill accused._

_Barry nodded. "At least I know now that you four are not on Umbrella's payroll. Enrico and I had our concerns about some of the cops, including Wesker and Chief Irons. Irons is very dirty. How else can he afford all of those crappy pieces of art on his salary?"_

_"Hmm..." Chris thought for a moment. "You do have a point. But what about Wesker?"_

_"You saw the slide," Barry pointed out. "He's a researcher. My guess is that fax regarding X-Day was for him. How else can you explain why we are here?"_

_"And what about you?" Jill fumed. "How do we know that you're not a stooge on Umbrella's payroll?"_

_"Because Wesker threatened to kill my family if I didn't cooperate," Barry replied. "Remember those bugs that Joseph was testing out for the Vice squad? He placed several of them inside the S.T.A.R.S Office. He also bugged Wesker's cellphone and the phones in the office. That's how Enrico and I found out about Wesker's involvement with this mess. We couldn't go to Irons, and half of the R.P.D. is corrupt. Wesker also talked about using my family as a bargaining chip in order to keep me under control. But I managed to get my family out of harms' without him being the wiser. Thanks to some of my buddies down in S.W.A.T. that are honest cops, they got my family out. Sure enough, Wesker did send several gunmen to my place, but they received a nice welcoming committee from a squad of heavily-armed S.W.A.T. Officers. Wesker was duped into thinking that his goons had my family hostage."_

_"Clever," Jill noted._

_There was a computer nearby. Using the pilfered username and passcode, Chris brought up the dossiers of the Umbrella Research Team. Sure enough, Wesker's file was among them. From the look of things, he was hired by Umbrella as a teenager, a protege under Ozwell Spencer himself. The appointment to the R.P.D. S.T.A.R.S. was part of his cover to keep an eye on things in Raccoon._

_There was a second file entitled Project V, but the clearance was too high. But the third file was that of a list of key R.P.D. personnel on Umbrella's payroll. Chris recognized some of the names, as did the others, as those who had responded to the 'cannibal murders.' Irons himself was at the top of the list. Thankfully, Rita and Branagh were not on the list._

_"Oh...heads are going to roll for this," Chris muttered. "But first, Wesker's got some serious explaining to do."_

[End Flashback]

**Umbrella had half of the R.P.D. on their payroll, Irons included, as well as some of the senior officers and detectives. Even Elran, who oversaw the Juvenile Crimes' Unit was taking bribes. We both grew up together, and were friends. One of these days, I am going to knock his lights out.**

**But first things first, Wesker had some serious explaining to do.**

**Turns out that he was checking out our progress on the video survailiance equipment. You know, the kind that has no audio. So the four of us took the elevator to the main lab. Wesker was waiting for us there. Both he and Barry held me, Jill and Rebecca at gunpoint as he explained his plans. He had planned on ditching Umbrella after getting the desired battle data on its weapons. Then he would go to the competition, and sell them to the highest bidder.**

**It was a night of surprises, both for Wesker and for myself. But most importantly, revelations about Jill were revealed.**

[Flashback]

_Wesker kept his gun trained on Chris, while Barry kept his Colt on Jill and Rebecca. "Poor deluded Chris," he said. "Such a shame. You could have done great things in Umbrella. Wonderful things. But instead, you wanted to be a cop. But, I got to admit...you were good. The best. Such a shame to waste such raw talent before its prime." He turned to Barry. "Barry, you can do one more thing for me, and your family will be freed. You will execute Cris and Rebecca...and Jill will get to choose which one will die first."_

_Chris thought about it for a moment. "Actually, I got a better idea." Turning to Barry, he said, "You wanna tell him, or should I?"_

_Before Wesker knew what was going on, Barry was upon him. One powerful haymaker to the face sent the double-crossing S.T.A.R.S. captain to the floor._

_By the time Wesker managed to get the stars out of his eyes, he found himself staring down the business ends of a bazooka, a Remington shotgun, a Colt Python and a Beretta handgun. An impromptu firing squad, should the need arise._

_Wesker spat out a wad of blood and glared at Barry. "Congratulations, Burton," He snapped. "You just signed your family's death sentence."_

_Barry shook his head. "I don't think so, Captain," he replied, addressing Wesker's title with sarcasm in his voice. "I managed to get my wife and girls to safety. Your buddies from Umbrella are now in the city morgue."_

_At that moment, the confident smirk that was on Wesker's face, despite the bruise on his right eye, vanished._

_"We know that you're one of the researchers here," Jill continued. "Those Biodata slides proved it. We know everything, Wesker. About the T-virus outbreak...X-Day...everything. You used S.T.A.R.S. to test out Umbrella's science projects."_

_"Not all of them," Wesker replied. "The ultimate bioweapon is behind these doors."_

_"In that case," Barry said as he forcibly spun Wesker around and grabbing a handful of his vest, making sure that he didn't escape, "lead the way."_

_The sliding doors opened and the four surviving S.T.A.R.S. members and their captive entered the room. The room itself was massive, complete with four rows of empty stasis tubes big enough to hold a human-sized test subject. the tubes were paired off by two, with a walkway in between the second and third rows._

_But it was the ten-foot-tall stasis tube located in the back of the room, hooked to a series of computers that had gotten the survivors' attention as they approached, as well as who was inside._

_It appeared to be something that even Dr. Frankenstein would be proud of. Nine feet tall, humanoid, incredibly muscular, the skin a pasty white. It had no sexual organs, as they had been surgically removed. The two things that stuck out was the massive heart that was on its upper right pectoral muscle, as well as the myriad of veins running around its face, the lipless mouth locked in a inhuman grimace._

_Last, where its left hand should be at, there was a massive, jagged claw, reaching to its knees._

_Rebecca looked at the giant of a bioweapon. "So this is the Tyrant?" she asked._

_Wesker nodded, his back towards the tube that kept Tyrant in place. "This is it. The ultimate bioweapon."_

_Rebecca scoffed. "I'm not impressed. I fought something like this several days ago. And that Tyrant had claws on both hands."_

_"That's a hell of a pump," Barry noted, gawking at the enormous, pumping organ. "What is it? Elephant?"_

_"No. Rhinoceros," Wesker corrected. He turned to look at it. "Magnificent, isn't it?" He asked as he turned to Chris. "Even someone like you can appreciate something of this magnitude, Chris."_

_Chris kept his shotgun trained on Wesker. "Can't say that is indeed impressive. But I got to draw the line when your beloved bioweapons tried to kill us."_

_"I got to say," Wesker replied. "I am very impressed that you made it this far. I even booby-trapped Forest's body with all those grenades and bazooka rounds, and you stopped him without firing a single shot." He then turned to Jill. "And you, Valentine...you were very impressive indeed. It would be a big waste if someone of your...gifts were to die at the hands of Umbrella's bioweapons."_

_Off Jill's puzzled look, Wesker continued. "You ever wondered why you were much stronger and faster than most of the female and some of the male officers in the police department? Or why you can heal faster than anyone else? Oh, I had my eye on you for a long, long time, Valentine. I purposely recruited you into S.T.A.R.S. so I can watch you flourish. You came here to expose Umbrella, while you should be thanking them for saving your life."_

_Jill's grip on the Bazooka tightened. "What the hell are you talking about, Wesker?"_

_"A little side project called 'Project V,' with yourself as Subject Zero. You were sick as a child, remember?" Wesker replied. "You had a extremely rare form of immunodeficiency, in which your immune system was similar to that of an patient with full-blown AIDS. At one point, the doctors said that you would not live to the age of ten. One night, you caught a nasty case of pneumonia while visiting Raccoon City. You were six years old at the time. Your parents rushed you to the hospital. The doctors there were sure that you would not survive through the night. And yet...here you are, alive and healthy. All because of Umbrella."_

_"And what does Umbrella have to do with me?" Jill shot back._

_"Your mother," Wesker replied. "She was a scientist for Umbrella's Medical Division. I believe her name was Miyako Watanabe." When Jill stiffened, Wesker chuckled. "Amazing what a parent will do in order to make sure that their child survives."_

_"No. My mother was not a member of Umbrella!" rebuked Jill._

_"Your survival was nothing but a mistake," Wesker replied, looking smug. "One of the treatments for pneumonia is to administer either PCV7 or PPV23. Instead, your mother injected you with a prototype ancillary serum that your mother worked alongside Dr. Birkin helped created from samples of the Progenitor Virus, codenamed P20. The ultimate performance enhancer. The serum did more than just cure your pneumonia, Valentine. Somehow...it has bonded to your DNA. It boosted your immune system, made you faster, stronger."_

_Jill took a step back. "No...that's not true..." she whispered._

_"Jill," Chris began. "Don't listen to him. He's full of shit."_

_"Really?" Wesker taunted. "It also altered your appearance. Namely, your eyes. Your parents both had brown eyes, correct? Your eyes changed colors as a result of your body bonding with P20. A minor side effect, but still...you do have nice blue eyes." He took a step forward, causing everyone to raise their weapons, save Jill, who had lowered her bazooka as she slowly absorbed what Wesker had told her._

_"Jill..." Wesker began. "You don't have to die here. You are the original super-soldier. Imagine the secrets that White Umbrella can unlock. You can reach your full potential without your partner or the others holding you back. All you have to do is come with me."_

_Jill slowly turned away from Wesker. "I always knew I was different," she whispered as the others kept their guns trained on Wesker. "Now I know why."_

_Wesker smiled, thinking that he had gotten through to her._

_Too bad he did not see one of Jill's gloved hands ball into a fist._

_That is until Jill spun around, one gloved fist impacting against Wesker's face causing him to stumble to the ground. If anyone had noticed, Wesker's hand had accidentally struck the keyboard as he fell to the ground._

_Jill raised her bazooka once again. "Umbrella may have saved my life...but I don't owe them a damn thing!" she snarled._

_Once again, Wesker spat out a wad of blood. "You disappoint me, Valentine," he said as he stood up. "That is very unwise."_

_He then noticed that Chris and the others were slowly backing away from him, their weapons aimed behind him._

_CRACK._

_Wesker spun around..._

_CRASH!_

_...just as the Tyrant's massive claw smashed through the glass tube and impaled him. Wesker screamed in unbearable pain as the Tyrant hopped down to the ground, ignoring the broken glass on the floor as the bioweapon tossed Wesker's body to the side._

_Wesker bled out in mere seconds, the Tyrant having done its damage to Wesker's internal organs. He was dead before he hit the floor._

_Then the Tyrant noticed the four humans in the room. Blood dripping from its claw, it began to advance._

[End Flashback]

**Project V. 'Project Valentine.'**

**I thought that I have seen and heard it all. But to hear Wesker say that Jill herself owed her survival to Umbrella, not to mention that her mother was part of Umbrella...I saw the look on Jill's face, and even she did not know. Wesker was right. Jill was indeed the original super-soldier, given what I've seen first hand. The way she had taken down those two Hunters first hand was pretty scary.**

**But I'm getting ahead of myself. Back to the matter at hand.**

**Wesker got what he deserved. A fitting end to the bastard. But then, we had to deal with the Tyrant. It stalked us, taking claw swipes at us whenever it got close enough. As our ammo reserves gotten lower, I came up with a desperate idea. I shot out one of the stasis tubes, spilling liquid out onto the ground, which was followed by Jill and Rebecca shooting out the power cords.**

**It worked like a charm. The Tyrant stepped into the liquid, and was electrocuted. As it fell face-down, we got more bad news. The laboratory's self-destruct sequence was initiated, with a twenty-minute countdown until detonation. No rest for the weary, I'm afraid. Fortunately, Wesker's body held the master key.**

**With time ticking down and Brad running low on fuel, not to mention the rest of the zombies and monsters hot on our trail, we called for the elevator. But the Tyrant was not yet finished...**

[Flashback]

_The elevator doors slid shut, just as three of the Chimeras reached the elevator. But it was already too late, as the doors were sealed, and the lift rose to the heliport, allowing the four surviving S.T.A.R.S. members to finally rest, if only for the moment._

_The lift came to a stop. In an instant, the four S.T.A.R.S. members had their weapons drawn in case anything was waiting for them._

_Instead, the only thing that greeted them when the doors opened was the morning sun rising over the Raccoon Forest._

_Cautiously, the two men and two women stepped onto the heliport. No helicopter on the pad. But more importantly, unless you counted the headless corpse dressed in a security guard uniform holding an unused signal flare in one hand, the helipad itself was clear of any walking dead or B.O.W._

_"Clear," Chris said._

_"Clear," Jill seconded._

_"No Brad," Rebecca muttered. "So now what do we do?"_

_"Wait a second," Chris said as he ran back over to the headless corpse. He retrieved the signal flare and rushed over to the center of the pad. Seconds later, the flare was sailing into the air, a trail of smoke the only proof left that it was there._

_Seconds passed. Chris looked at his watch. Less than six minutes before the mansion and lab would be reduced to a smoking crater._

_The spinning blades of a helicopter were soon heard overhead as the olive green Huey soon appeared. Brad had seen the flare. The helicopter circled around and prepared to land and pick up the remaining S.T.A.R.S. members before the place blew._

_THUMP._

_The floor vibrated from the impact. "What the hell?" Jill said._

_CRASH!_

_At the far end of the heliport, near a pair of doors that were welded shut, a huge chunk of the floor gave way, falling into the building below. An inhuman roar erupted from the hole, which heralded the arrival of the Tyrant, which had leapt onto the heliport, the body of a Chimera impaled on its claw._

_The Tyrant threw the body of the freakish B.O.W. to the ground as it looked over its next victims._

_A hail of gunfire - shotgun buckshot, nine-millimeter parabellum rounds, high-caliber magnum rounds and burst rounds greeted the massive bioweapon as it stalked towards the impromptu firing squad while Brad hovered helplessly in his chopper, watching the firefight below._

_"Everyone scatter!" Chris shouted. "Give him multiple targets! Scatter!"_

_The others did as Chris had ordered, while he drew the Tyrant's attention, backing away as he continued to unload shell after shell after shell into the advancing Tyrant._

_"That's right, you big bastard!" Chris taunted as he continued to fire. "Come to Daddy!"_

_That's when the Tyrant broke into a run, closing the distance between them within five seconds._

_"SHIT!" Chris cursed as he dived out the way, just as the Tyrant's massive claw missed him by scant inches as it performed an underhand swipe, pulling up chunks of concrete from the ground. Chris rolled along the ground and got to his feet. He spun around, shotgun raised and pulled the trigger._

_CLICK._

_As the Tyrant spun around, ignoring the bullets and grenade rounds fired by Jill and the others, Chris dug into his pockets, only to find that he was out of shells._

_"Oh, give me a break," he muttered as he tossed the shotgun to the side._

_But before he could pull out his Beretta, the Tyrant was upon him. One massive hand, the size of a human head, grabbed Chris's vest and lifted him clean in the air._

_"CHRIS!" Jill screamed as she saw the Tyrant grab her lover. "Barry, do something!"_

_"I can't!" Barry replied. "I don't got a clear shot! I might hit Chris!"_

_Meanwhile, the Tyrant looked at its hostage as it tried to get itself free, but to no avail. The bioweapon looked at the human as if he was a cockroach to be stepped on. Then it cocked its arm back, the claw ready to skewer its next victim._

_But dying was not on the agenda of Chris Redfield. He had retrieved his Beretta and fired point blank into the Tyrant's eye._

_The monster roared in pain as its right eye was blown out. It tossed Chris to the far wall, near where the hole was. The vest absorbed most of the impact as Chris bounced off the wall and onto the ground. He had lost his grip on his Samurai Edge and it fell into the hole._

_"Damn that hurt," Chris muttered as he managed to get to a vertical base, despite the fact that his insides felt like they were scrambled from the impact. Thankfully, nothing wasn't broken or ruptured, since Chris was already tough enough from his days in the military._

_By this time, the Tyrant had spotted Chris with its one good eye._

_The Tyrant charged. Chris waited at the last moment, his back pressed up against the wall before rolling out of the way, just as the Tyrant's massive claw struck the place where his chest was at moments earlier, getting its claw stuck in the concrete wall._

_THUNK._

_"Chris!" Brad's voice screamed from the chopper. "Use it! Kill the damn thing!"_

_Chris saw what Brad had dropped onto the pad._

_A M66 Rocket Launcher, complete with four shots._

_Not wasting any time, Chris made a beeline towards the massive weapon, while Barry, Jill and Rebecca covered him. "Chris, hurry!" Jill shouted. "I'm almost out of ammo!"_

_By this time, the Tyrant had gotten its claw freed and saw the man in the green vest scrambling away from him. In its primitive mind, he would be the first to die. The others can wait. The monster charged..._

_...just as Chris reached the launcher. As the Tyrant's distance closed on Chris, he had the weapon on one shoulder, aimed at the eight-foot bioweapon._

_"Game over, motherfucker," Chris snarled as he pulled the trigger._

_WHOOSH!_

_A single, silver anti-tank rocket sailed out of the launcher. Chris's aim was true, as the deadly weapon found its mark. With a near-deafening BOOM, the Tyrant was reduced to bloody, smoking pieces._

_Jill looked at her watch. Only one minute left before the place blew. Chris dropped the launcher as Brad brought the Huey down for a landing. Rebecca hopped in, followed by Barry. Jill was next, followed by Chris._

_"Go, Brad!" Chris ordered. "Get us the hell out of here!"_

_"Got it!" the pilot said as he took off._

_Chris sat down by Jill and looked at his watch. Forty-five seconds remained. As the bird took to the skies..._

_KA-BOOM!_

_...the chopper shook with the force of the massive explosion that leveled the mansion and the laboratory._

[End Flashback]

**The chopper landed back on the R.P.D. helipad. Out of two teams - well, two teams and Wesker - only myself, Jill, Barry, Brad and Rebecca are alive. We went our separate ways afterward, to rest and recuperate. I knew that this was just the beginning.**

**I filed the reports, not leaving anything out. The following day, we were summoned to Irons' office. He himself had read the report as to what had happened that night. As expected, he did not believe a word. Not even the documents we had taken from the mansion and laboratory swayed him. And the footage of Kenneth being slaughtered by the zombie had all but vanished.**

**He accused us of gross negligence and were it up to him, charge us for the deaths of Enrico and the others. Instead, he decided to sic Internal Affairs on us, while at the same time ordering that all of us were to be removed from S.T.A.R.S., the unit itself dissolved, and have all of us work as beat cops.**

**The cops that are on the take give us evil looks, as if waiting for the call from Umbrella to take us down. Thank God that some of the cops are the honest ones; Ryman, Rita and Branagh, just to name a few. At least Jill and I are still partners. Barry had taken a leave of absence and has decided to get his family out of harms' way. He just left for his in-laws' place in Toronto. Rebecca's also left the city. She's decided to head down to Stone Ville until the heat dies down. I told her to relay a message from me to Claire, telling her that things were a bit hot in Raccoon, and that she should wait until things cooled down.**

**That left Brad, Jill, and myself. Jill has a new apartment, but decided to stay with me for the time being.**

**I look at Jill. She's still sleeping The physical wounds have healed, but the mental ones are still there. I'm no different. But what still has me reeling was the fact that Jill was in fact Birkin and Wesker's unexpected 'Patient Zero' for Project V. I've done some digging around in Wesker's desk and I found that what he had said was indeed true. Jill did suffer from a rare case of immunodeficiency that was fatal in most cases, and that administering P20 into her system had indeed strengthened her immune system greatly, but also made her faster and stronger.**

**I can't bear to think what could have happened if Jill had accepted Wesker's offer...**

**But Wesker was right about one thing. Jill is indeed the original super-soldier. But I seriously think that Jill does not want to be prodded and used for Umbrella's twisted research. No, I will keep her secret, and continue to train her. I think Jill is more shocked than anything. But I managed to talk to her, and tell her that her skills were earned, not from some bit of science. Technically, Umbrell and her mother a did save her life, but as she said to Wesker, she owed them nothing.**

**But it does answers some questions about Jill. Never thought my girlfriend would have that personal of a link to Umbrella.**

Snafu's Notes: As you can see, I followed the Gamecube remake of Resident Evil (as witnessed by Forest's appearance as the One Dangerous Zombie), as well as throwing in a Hard Target reference. Also, I modeled Chris' S.T.A.R.S. uniform from RE5, complete with his knife over the shoulder.

About P20: P20 (Progenitor Ancillary Twenty) In the official storyline, Wesker used P30 to give Jill superhuman attributes, while keeping her under his control. So I took that and revamped it. In this story, P20 is the predecessor to P30, which was used to save Jill's life, hence Wesker and Birkin's interest in her.

Next Chapter: The Investigation into Umbrella begins. Chris and Jill have a narrow brush with death, and take the next step in their relationship.


	10. 8: The Investigation Begins

**Chapter Eight: The Investigation Begins...**

Snafu's Notes: Bet you didn't see that one coming, didn't you? The idea of Jill as a super-soldier had long since interested me after Jill used Chris as her personal punching bag in Resident Evil 5. No, she will not be as freakishly strong and has powers like Project Alice from the movies or Al Wesker, but she could count as a super soldier in her own right. Agility-wise, she's as fast as her evil counterpart in Resident Evil 5. Strength-wise, she's on par with Chris. Basically, gun and fighting wise, she is a combination of both her MvC3 and her RE5 versions (or as one of my friends had jokingly put it, Jill is a graduate of the John Woo School of Gunplay).

Wednesday, August 11, 1998

Raccoon Bistro - downtown Raccoon City.

Following the Spencer Mansion fiasco, things went downhill for the surviving S.T.A.R.S.

Rather than face the Internal Affairs Bureau, Rebecca had resigned from the Raccoon Police Department and was currently laying low. Barry had taken a leave of absence and was currently preparing to move his family to her parents' place in Toronto. Brad was M.I.A., but was seen in the city.

That left Chris Redfield and Jill Valentine.

Despite the evidence the surviving S.T.A.R.S. had brought back from the mansion, Irons had refused to allow Chris to open an investigation in regards to Umbrella's bioweapons program. Even more worse, the evidence has all but vanished into thin air when Chris searched for it. All of the documents, the files, even the video of Kenneth's death, which would have blown the whole case open.

When Chris had confronted Irons about the missing evidence, his reply was that several federal agents had retrieved the files and had taken them. Of course, Chris knew that Chief Irons was full of shit, given the fact that he was on Umbrella's payroll. Irons had allowed several Umbrella goons to simply waltz into the R.P.D. and retrieve the documents and files taken from the Spencer Mansion.

Aside from that, Irons had the Raccoon Special Tactics and Rescue Service dissolved, pending an Internal Affairs investigation into the special unit's handling of the Spencer Mansion case. In S.T.A.R.S.'s place, Irons had established a new unit - the Select Police Force. Of course, Chris and Jill were banned from joining, Irons opting to put them on the streets as beat cops.

At the moment, Chris and Jill were having lunch. Since the Grill 13 was having some problems with their gas lines and Emmy's Diner was being fumigated, they decided to have lunch at the Raccoon Bistro, located down the street from the Raccoon Police Department. It was they day off and rather than remain cooped inside his house, Chris and Jill decided to go out for lunch instead.

"The evidence is gone, Jill," Chris said as they sat at an outdoor table. "Everything we found inside the mansion is gone. I kept it inside the evidence locker and I got cleaned out."

"Why are you surprised?" his lover retorted. "We saw the files back in the lab. Irons is on the payroll. How else can he afford those tacky pieces of art?"

It was true. One day, Chris and Jill were on their way to the motor pool when they came across Irons holding a portrait of a nude woman being hanged. His secretary was also with them, her face was one of disgust at her boss' choice of art. Irons' taxidermy was bad enough, but this was pushing it.

"Did you know that Irons made a pass at me today?" Jill continued as she sipped at a glass of water.

"What?"

Jill nodded. "He offered me a spot in the S.P.F. All I had to do was to talk with him over dinner."

Chris' eyes narrowed. "I don't care if he is the Chief of Police. I should wring his fat neck."

As the pair talked, a waitress approached their table from inside the bistro, balancing a circular tray in one hand.

"I've sent in a request to the F.B.I.," Chris said, "in regards to Chief Irons."

Jill snorted. "Good luck with that. Those take weeks, let alone months." She leaned back in her chair. "You know...Alyssa could be of use."

"The reporter from the Times?"

The former thief nodded. "I think both her and Bertolucci could be of some use for us. Before you stored the files, I made several copies. Didn't have enough time to make all of the copies, so I made copies of the records of all of the R.P.D. on Umbrella's payroll, and emailed them to Alyssa. I told her not to act on the info, because things are too hot. I would bet my lockpicks that they would try to make her disappear."

"Smart move," Chris complimented. "I did the same thing and sent them to the D.A.'s Office."

Jill grinned. "You've been rubbing off on me."

As the couple/partners continued to talk, they failed to see the approaching waitress. They also failed to see the waitress pulling out a loaded revolver from underneath the tray.

The false waitress casually flipped off the safety and took aim. One second later, she pulled the trigger twice. Fortunately for Chris and Jill, a passing waitress was rushing past when she fired. The waitress took the rounds in the torso, crying out as she fell. Chris and Jill looked up as the woman fired and saw that the waitress had taken the bullets that was meant for them.

As the patrons scattered, Chris immediately flipped the table up and both him and Jill hid behind it, using it as a shield, Jill cursing to herself that she left her own handgun in the car as the false waitress advanced, unloading her gun into the table, hoping that she would eventually hit the two S.T.A.R.S. survivors.

Once the assassin ran out of bullets, Chris quickly reacted. As the assassin reached for a speed loader, Chris pulled out his replacement firearm - his H&K USP pistol - and fired twice. The first shot blasted the gun out of her hand. The second caught her in the shoulder, causing her to stumble over a table and fall to the floor.

As Jill tended to the injured waitress, Chris zeroed in on the gunwoman. She was holding her shoulder, glaring at Chris, who kicked her gun to the side. In the meantime, three R.P.D. squad cars showed up, one of them containing both Rita and Branagh inside.

"You tried to kill my partner and me," Chris said as Branagh came up beside him, his Browning drawn, while Rita helped Jill with the injured waitress. "Who are you? who are you working for?"

"Who do you think, Redfield?" the assassin shot back. "You can't win against us."

She then produced a pill and swallowed it. Seconds later, she keeled over, dead.

Branagh kept his gun trained on the woman. "What the hell?"

Chris inspected the woman's body. He sniffed the woman's open mouth. "Burnt almonds...cyanide. She killed herself. Fucking poison."

"Who the hell was she?" Branagh asked.

"Someone who tried to kill both Jill and myself," Chris replied. "We were lucky."

Chris turned around to look at Jill and Rita. As it turned out, the assassin wasn't the only casualty. The waitress had bled out, despite Jill and Rita's efforts to keep her alive.

Jill reached out and closed the dead waitress' eyes, anger evident in her own.

'Those Umbrella bastards!' her mind screamed. 'They killed a waitress just so they can try and kill Chris and me!'

By this time, more cops had arrived on the scene. Chris and Jill both gave their statements and were allowed to leave. Of course, there was no way that the crooked R.P.D. officers could spin this in an attempt to frame Chris and Jill. After all, several security cameras and a load of witnesses saw the woman open fire on Chris and Jill.

In the chaos, nobody noticed the black sedan drive off.  


* * *

  
Later on...

Barry had found out about the attempt on Chris and Jill's lives and had rushed over to Chris' home after making sure his family was safe.

"Are the both of you okay?" Barry asked after Chris had let him in.

Chris nodded as he closed the door. "Yeah. Jill's a bit shook up over what had happened. She's in the den. Where's Kathy and the kids?"

"They're at home, under guard," Barry replied as he and Chris entered the den. Jill was seated on the couch, having changed out of the bloody clothes and tossed them in the trash. She was seated on the couch, cross-legged, wearing one of Chris' T-shirts and a pair of shorts, sipping a mug of herbal tea, her Samurai Edge on the coffee table, loaded. Chris' own USP rested beside hers, also loaded.

Barry sighed. After all, he could sympathise with the guilt that has been plaguing Jill, seeing someone die in front of them wasn't easy.

The older man took a seat in the armchair, while Chris sat beside Jill, one arm wrapped around her shoulders for support.

"I've heard from Branagh and Rita about what had happened," Barry said. "Doesn't get any easier with age. People die in our line of work."

"She died in my arms," Jill whispered. "She wasn't a cop like us. Just an innocent girl. You want to know what she whispered to me before she died? She said that she didn't want to die. I tried to save her Barry...but there was too much damage..."

"It was Umbrella," Chris said. "I'm sure of it. But Irons is refusing to let us investigate the matter. He's trying to sweep it under the rug."

Before Barry could comment, the house phone began to ring, bringing the conversation to a halt. Chris absently reached over and was about to pick up when he looked at the caller ID. There was no name, nor number shown.

Chris' hand moved from the receiver, then relented before moving down to the speaker button. He pressed it, activating the line. "Hello. Redfield here."

"Christopher Redfield," the unknown male voice said. "A pleasure to make your acquaintance."

Chris looked at both Jill and Barry, who both decided to keep their mouths shut, as the man on the phone believed that Chris was alone.

"Who the hell are you?" Chris demanded.

"Now, now, Mr. Redfield, no need to be rude," the man replied. "I represent Umbrella Pharmaceutical Incorporated."

"How did you get my number?"

"We have our ways. Now you and your comrades have stumbled onto something big at the Spencer Mansion. We have also discovered that Albert Wesker was planning on defecting from our little family. So in effect, you have done us a favor by eliminating him. We do not tolerate traitors."

"You called me for a reason, so let's get to the brass tacks," Chris said.

"Straight to the point. I like that. As I've said, you have stumbled onto something big with the T-virus outbreak at the Spencer Mansion, along with Wesker's betrayal. It's because of that, my superiors have decided not to liquidate you for your...'service.' We instead have a proposal for you. You have also been having trouble with Chief Irons. This is where we come in. All you have to do is simply change your story about what has transpired in the Spencer Mansion. Do that, and we will get Irons off your back. We will also give you a substantial payment for your troubles."

"Did you know that someone from Umbrella tried to kill my partner and me earlier today?" Chris replied. "An innocent woman was caught in the crossfire, and was killed."

"That was regrettable, but we do have elements within Umbrella that act of their own accord. My clearance comes from the highest priority."

"Not only are you asking me to change my story in regards to the Spencer Mansion, but you're also bribing me with blood money. I lost a lot of good friends because of your little biohazard. You can keep your damn blood money. Sooner or later, the people will find out what has happened here, and will hold Umbrella responsible."

A pause.

"You disappoint me, Mister Redfield. Now, I can't be held accountable for what happens to you...or to your partner, the lovely Officer Valentine."

Chris looked at Jill, whose blue eyes were wide with shock. "Bring her up at your own risk."

"Mister Redfield, you are in no position to be making idle threats," the man replied. "Now, as for your partner...we are quite aware of the P20 serum inside her body, as well as her...attributes. She is indeed the original super-soldier. Which is why a squad of Umbrella Special Forces has been dispatched to her apartment to retrieve her. Her body will be quite useful for White Umbrella's experiments. They should be retrieving her as we speak. Maybe if you're lucky, then you can see her again."

Click. The line went dead.

"I'd like to see the look on those bastards' faces when they see that Jill isn't there," Chris said as he turned the speaker off.

"You're not worried that they might come here next?" Barry asked.

"The R.P.D. does not have my address on file. All they have is a P.O. number," Chris explained. "But in case someone does go digging, they'll be sent on a wild goose chase. Got a friend in the records department who is on the level. I'm safe for the time being." He looked at Jill. "As for you...you should stay here."

Jill nodded. "Okay."  


* * *

  
From the diary of Jill Valentine...

_**Friday, August 13, 1998.**_

_**It's official. Chris Redfield and I are no longer part of the Raccoon Police Department. But I'm getting ahead of myself. **_

_**So far, I've been hiding out at Chris' place. My apartment has been compromised. Sure enough, White Umbrella had sent a squad to kidnap me and take me to God-knows-where. Even more worse, Chris and I found out that Elran of the Juvenile Crimes' Division was posted outside my building, acting as a lookout, making sure that no one interferes in my abduction.**_

_**Since then, White Umbrella had made a second attempt in kidnapping me, a brazen attempt since I was still on the job. That attempt failed as well. That did little to help Chris' mood. Fortunately, Umbrella had backed off, after their last attempt. Sending Umbrella the message that any attempts to kidnap me will result in either bodily injury or death tends to work wonders.**_

_**Anyway, as I've said earlier, We're no longer with the R.P.D. Chris resigned first...after punching Elran's lights out. **_

_**Can't say that the asshole had it coming.**_

_**It happened earlier today, at the tail end of our shift. Elran had bumped into him and spilled hot coffee onto his shirt. Elran apologized for that, to which Chris **_

_**replied, "No problem."**_

_**Then Chris punched him in the gut, which was followed by Elran landing on the desk, after Chris had uppercutted him. Chris tossed his badge on top of Elran's shirt and announced his resignation. As Chris walked by me, he gave me a wink as he passed. I think that it was shear dumb luck that Chris wasn't charged for assault.**_

_**Of course, I tendered my own resignation when Irons made another pass at me, and followed Chris out of the R.P.D. **_

_**What surprised me was the fact that Chris was just able to stroll out of the police station without incident. As we headed back to his place, I soon found out why. Shortly after filing our reports to Chief Irons, Chris made a copy of the list of R.P.D. officers on Umbrella's payroll and sent them to the Assisstant D.A. It also helped that his wife and kid were present at Raccoon National on the day of the bank robbery, which meant that he owed Chris a major favor. **_

_**Chris once told me that it's always good to have a backup plan. Now with Irons and the rest of the crooked cops being occupied with threats of a investigation from the state D.A.'s office, Chris, Barry and I can start our investigation into Umbrella.**_  


* * *

  
Redfield Home - two days later.

A war council was meeting inside the den of the Redfield home. The council consisted of three of the four surviving members of the now-disbanded S.T.A.R.S. Alpha Team.

Chris Redfield and Jill Valentine were seated on the couch, while Barry Burton was resting in an armchair. On the coffee table were three folders, each bearing the insignia of the entity that they have come to hate: Umbrella.

One of the files had something interesting. The folder had the heading **GENE-VIRUS: SEALED**.

Having a girlfriend whose specialty is breaking into cars proved to have its benefits. Earlier that day, as several Umbrella goons were tailing Chris in the Raccoon Zoo, Jill had broken into their car and pilfered the aforementioned files, which were hidden inside a steel briefcase. After Chris had given the two goons the slip, both he and Jill retreated to the safety of his home.

Suffice to say, after Barry had read the files, the mood was grim.

"It's not over yet," Chris said. "The nightmare continues. I thought the T-virus was bad."

"So what do we do now?" Jill asked.

"If these reports are true, then the G-virus is much worse. Only problem is that most of the research is over in Europe," Chris replied.

"I got to make sure that Kathy and the kids are safe in Toronto before I do anything," Barry said. "Sorry, you two, but you're on your own."

Jill tapped the reports with one finger. "There's another Umbrella lab in the city. I'll hang around town and see if I can find."

"Looks like I'm on my own," Chris said. "I'll head for Europe and check things out there. I got a couple of contacts who owe me a couple of favors." He turned to Jill. "Sure you don't want to come with me?"

Jill nodded. "I'm a big girl. I can handle myself."

"I know you are, Jill. But Umbrella's becoming pretty unpredictable," Chris pointed out. "That makes them even more dangerous. They can either kill you or try and capture you for the secrets you have. Once I get things settled in Europe, you and Barry will meet me there."

Both Barry and Jill nodded.  


* * *

  
The following day...

Jill watched from the open doorway as Chris continued to pack his clothes. "So when do you leave?" she asked.

"Three days," was the reply. "Having second thoughts about me leaving?"

"No. We agreed to this." It was then Jill had an idea. "Chris, can you do me one favor before you go?"

"Sure. What is it?"

Jill took a deep breath. "Before you go...I want you to marry me."

Chris stopped packing. He slowly turned around. "Huh? Did I hear you right?"

"Yes, you did, Redfield. I'm asking you to marry me."

"I always thought that it was the guy who should be asking down on one knee," Chris mused. "I think we're a bit short on money to hold a wedding ceremony, Jill. Though it would be nice. Least you save me the trouble of asking you. What do you have in mind?"

"City Hall," Jill suggested. "I know one of the judges there. He was the judge at my trial back when I was a teenager. If we can't do it at City Hall, the Clock Tower has a chapel."

Chris thought about it for a moment. They had been together for over a year, and had survived one of the most terrifying experiences in their lives. It took him only a moment to reach his decision. "Got something nice to wear?"  


* * *

  
Raccoon City Hall, two hours later...

'Never thought that I would end up getting married inside City Hall,' Chris thought as he stood alongside Jill. 'Then again, I never thought I would end up getting married period.'

Two hours later and Chris and Jill found themselves inside Raccoon City Hall. The fist phone call was to Barry and Kathy, who decided to take time out from their packing to act as witnesses. The second call was to Rita, who arried shortly after the Burtons, with Marvin in tow. It was a momentous occasion...despite the fact that it was totally unexpected. The Burton family were clad in semi-casual attire, while Rita and Marvin were in their R.P.D. uniforms. Chris was dressed in the same suit he wore to Claire's graduation, only with no necktie, while Jill had on a simple blue summer dress.

The wedding of Chris Redfield and Jill Valentine took less than thirty minutes to perform. The judge, a older man by the name of P.K. Howard, conducted the ceremony. Of course, Barry and Kathy had loaned Chris and Jill their wedding rings for the ceremony, which were later returned to the couple after the ceremony was complete. Afterwards, the marriage certificate was paid and filed. Of course, Jill had decided to keep her last name, rather than take on her husband's surname. Copies of the marriage certificate were made, one for Chris, the other for Jill, while the master copy remained in the city's files.

As Chris was chatting with Barry, Kathy, Rita and Branagh, Jill was talking with the judge. Turns out that the judge's eldest daughter and her husband were among the victims of the 'cannibal murders' months earlier. Only his grandchildren - who were with him and his wife at the time - were spared.

"I am very happy for you, Valentine," Howard said. "I wish it could be under more pleasant circumstances."

"Thank you, Your Honor," Jill replied. "So how's your family? Are they holding up okay?"

"As well as they can be under the circumstances," Howard replied. Like Jill and the others, he also held Umbrella in great disdain, and also disliked the police chief for his handling of the case. "I've talked it over with the wife and decided that it would be best that we take the kids to visit my youngest down in Virginia. I got a bad feeling that something big's gonna happen here soon. Might as well get them the Hell out of Dodge. You watch your ass, Valentine."

"You too, sir."  


* * *

  
Raccoon Airport - Wednesday, August 19, 1998

Chris Redfield stood in the terminal alongside his wife of three days. While Jill was dressed in casual attire, Chris was disguised in his old Air Force officer's uniform, complete with former rank.

Luck was on their side, as no one from Umbrella was tailing them. Had they were, Chris and Jill would either ditch them or knock them out. Chris would switch planes upon arrival in Washington, D.C., before heading to Madrid. There, he would begin his investigation into Umbrella.

As the stewardess announced that Chris' plane was starting to board, Chris picked up his shoulder bag. "There's my plane. I really wish you'd reconsider."

Jill smiled. "I told you I'll be fine, Chris. I'm a lot tougher than I look."

"I believe it," he replied. "I was partially responsible for making you tougher."

"You better get going," Jill said. "Take care of yourself, Chris."

"You too."

After a final kiss and embrace, Jill watched as Chris walked down the corridor, stopping to turn and wave at her. Little did Jill know was that she would not see Chris again for nearly two months.

Next Chapter: Jill escapes from Raccoon City moments before its destruction. Chris reunites with Jill, and calls in a favor to several old friends.


	11. 9: One Step Ahead

_**Chapter Nine: One Step Ahead**_

Snafu's Notes: Apologies for not updating, as I was busy with Naruto: Rise of the Emperor. Now that said fanfic is done, I can resume work on A Change in Pace. Raccoon City was destroyed in two ways; by nuclear missile in Nemesis and seen in Degeneration and Apocalypse, whereas in Outbreak, the city was destroyed by a multitude of missiles. So...I did the nuclear option. Now for the scene where Raccoon gets nuked, I had to do some painstaking research on nuclear explosions, cause I wanted it to be as graphic as possible. So I researched nuclear explosions online...as well as looked at the L.A. nuke scene in Terminator 2. Also, this chapter is kinda short, but it will set up the remaining two chapters for Part One.

Raccoon City, Colorado - October 1, 1998

The Bell 203 helicopter rose from the makeshift helipad inside the scrapyard and took to the skies, as did several other scattered helicopters from across the city. The sun was rising over Raccoon City, but for the city itself, it would be Raccoon's last sunrise.

Carlos Oliveira leaned back into his seat, a relived sigh escaped his lips as he closed his eyes. Below, the city was in its death throes. There was almost no one left alive as the walking dead marched through Raccoon's streets.

Jill looked at the city below. Raccoon City was truly a necropolis. In the streets below, the last surviving citizens made their last stand against the undead masses. But she was alive. The chopper flew over Raccoon Zoo, where Chris had taken her shortly before they 'got together,' where Jill saw the undead bull elephant rampage through the destroyed areas of the zoo, trumpeting in defiance of its impending demise. The four undead lions were feasting on the corpse of a dead rhino.

Turning from the dying city to the pilot, she expressed her gratitude. "Thank you! You saved us!"

"You know I couldn't let you die, Jill," the pilot replied, turning around to face a surprised Jill. "Your husband would never forgive me if you did."

He had grown a beard and was wearing a pair of aviator sunglasses, but Jill recognized in in an instant. "Barry? Is that you?"

Carlos opened his eyes. "You know this guy?" he asked.

Jill nodded. "He's also ex-S.T.A.R.S., and a friend."

"We need to get to minimal safe distance," Barry replied. "I've gotten in touch with Chris. He's heard about the outbreak in Raccoon. He's placed his investigation on hold and is on his way back to the States." He looked down at the city and sighed. "All those people...damn. We tried to warn them about what Umbrella was doing...and now..." He sighed. "Thank God Kathy and the babies are in Toronto. We got less than seven minutes to get to safe distance. They're gonna nuke the city. We're heading for South Ennadale, which is about 30 miles away."

Carlos looked at his watch. "It's almost time," he said.

Barry nodded. "It's gonna be real close, but we can make it."

Jill remained silent as she continued to look down at the city. Looking up, she saw a military helicopter fly off in the opposite direction. Attached to a heavy-duty cable, was a supercomputer hard-drive. The helicopter had the markings of the Umbrella Corporation. Jill thought she was seeing things, but she could have sworn she saw a woman in red hitcing a ride on the hard drive.

Jill simply shook it off as the stress of what she had just been through. She had just survived one of the most harrowing and horrific experiences of her life. Her shoulder was still sore, as was the rest of her body, but she had survived the outbreak which had all but sealed Raccoon City's fate.

'All those people,' Jill thought sadly.

As the chopper reached the city limits, they flew past the deserted military barricade. By the time they had reached the Arklay Mountains, a single missile containing a 5-kiloton warhead sailed past the chopper.

Jill followed its trail as it headed for the doomed city. "My God...it's coming..."

Barry solemnly nodded. "Yeah...it's the end."

Jill covered her eyes, as did Carlos, the latter making the sign of the Catholic Cross as he whispered a prayer in Spanish.

The five-kiloton missile continued on until it reached the heart of the downtown area, where it detonated in mid-air over City Hall in a air-burst, the sky lighting with the radiance of a thousand suns. The surviving looters caught in ground zero were immediately reduced to living skeletons, before being vaporized into nothing, while those father away fall to the ground as the light blinds them, the thermal blast setting them ablaze. The walking dead were not exempt, those being at ground zero suffered the same fate as the remaining populace of Raccoon.

Raccoon City Hall, where Jill had married Chris shortly before his departure, the Grill 13 Restaurant, and the offices of the Raccoon Press, as well as most of the buildings in the downtown area was reduced to a bubbling mass of steel and concrete, rushing up into the stem of the ominous mushroom cloud. The remaining choppers that had taken off late or were not protected by the EMP fell back to the city and were destroyed in mid-air.

The blast wave expanded, pulverizing and shattering the buildings, the debris and metal framework turn white hot before dissipating into plasma. Streetlights glow white hot and sprayed into molten aluminum. Cars, trucks and any other vehicles are sent airborne, crashing into windows, bouncing off the side of the buildings, before the gas tanks detonated, the metalwork melting in the intense heat.

The zombies and other monsters caught in the blast are instantly incinerated, destroying flesh and internal organs, leaving nothing but skeletons, the skeletons becoming hot to the point that they glow like hot coals before crumbling in the intense wind. Three miles from ground zero, the blast wave expanded, leaving nothing but destruction in its wake.

In the Cider District, the ransacked Redfield home, where Jill had spent many a night with Chris, was among those obliterated in the blast wave. The Raccoon Police Department, where Jill had gotten her start as a police officer was pulverized, the survivors who had taken refuge there were either killed on the upper floors or trapped underground, doomed to die from either starvation or lack of oxygen.

The Kendo Gun Shop, where Chris and Jill had received their Beretta handguns, was also wiped out, the zombified body of Robert Kendo staring dumbly at the mushroom cloud before he was atomized by the blast wave. Saint Michael's Clock Tower, where Jill had narrowly avoided death at the hands of the Nemesis is also enveloped in the malestrom. The Raccoon Zoo, where Chris had taken Jill on their 'date,' was next, the zombified animals destroyed by the nuclear fire.

The mushroom cloud continued to rise as the blast wave expanded. The blast wave struck the helicopter, but Barry was able to keep it afloat. The chopper did as it was advertized; it withstood the effects of the EMP. The light slowly faded, allowing Jill and Carlos to open their eyes. Jill turned to the window, and saw the angry mushroom cloud turning from purplish-gray to dark gray. There was nothing but destruction left in its wake.

Raccoon City, as well as the surrounding forest had ceased to exist.

'Umbrella is going to pay for this,' was the thought that went through Jill's mind before she passed out from the exhaustion.

* * *

[The morning news. The Anchorwoman (who suspiciously looks like Milla Jovovitch) is reporting on the destruction of Raccoon City.]

ANCHORWOMAN: ...and now, we have a rather unfortunate turn of events. Our top story at the hour is the destruction of Raccoon City. It seems that President Williams and the federal government has passed judgment over the Midwestern town. Information is sketchy at best, but there are reports of a viral outbreak of unknown origin. The President has ruled that the 'bacillus-terminate' operation was in fact the best course of action for such an extreme action, and have since, executed it. Based on that fact, Raccoon City has been, quite literally, wiped off the map, the use of nuclear weapons over American soil the first since the Trinity Explosion in 1992. The current death toll is estimated to reach well over the 100,000 mark. Our hearts and prayers go out to those poor civilians of Raccoon City...

* * *

From the diary of Jill Valentine...

_**October 4, 1998**_

_**I guess since my old diary was destroyed back in Raccoon City, this counts as Volume 2.**_

_**It's been three days since the destruction of Raccoon City.**_

_**After I've spent the day recovering, I hit the ground running. I don't have a lot of time before Umbrella will discover that I'm not dead, so I had to move fast. First off, I paid a visit to Dad down at Lakeview under an alias, and told him what had happened, as well as my role in this whole mess. I told him that there will be some folks coming asking about me under the guise of being federal agents, and that they will ask for my whereabouts, and that you should act like you haven't seen me. Thankfully, Dad complied with my request and wished me luck.**_

_**Right now, I've just left one of Chris's old hangouts in Colorado Springs he told me about, but it was empty, as it has been for several days. Apparently, Umbrella is looking for him as well, and had beaten me to the punch. The only thing I found of his was his old combat knife. But I know that Chris is still out there.**_

_**Another thing I found at the hideout was a cellphone. I checked it out. No bugs or tracking devices of any kind. Looks like one of those prepaid disposable phones. Odd thing about is it that it had my dad's name on the back of it. But after a moment, I realized that the name was in fact a phone number. Chris's phone number.**_

_**October 7, 1998**_

_**One thing about Chris that I will admit. He sure knows how to plan ahead. Our first stop is at a bank, where Chris has left some cash, a spare pistol with some ammo, and a couple of fake IDs in a safe deposit box down in Exeter, along with a disguise. We met up in Denver. I went in alone, while Carlos remained behind.**_

* * *

[Flashback]

_Hyatt Regency Denver - Denver, Colorado – October 6, 1998_

_'Oh, yeah,' Jill thought as she walked through the lobby of the hotel, closing her umbrella, as it was raining outside. 'Chris definitely knows how to plan ahead.'_

_Earlier that day, Chris had called, telling to her to meet up with him at the Hyatt. As an added bonus, Denver was playing host to a businessmen's convention, meaning that the hotel would be packed. Carlos remained behind with the car, hiding inside a parking garage while Jill searched for her husband. Earlier that day, Barry had returned to Toronto to be with his family, leaving Jill alone._

_So far, Jill's luck was holding, as most of Umbrella thought her to have been killed during the Raccoon Outbreak._

_She also had to admire Chris' disguise of choice; a Army womens' service uniform; the dark green jacket and pants, light green shirt underneath with neck tab, and spit-shined shoes. Even more so, the disguise also had her former military rank. Her weapon - a R.P.D.-issued VP70 - was tucked into the small of her back. A black beret completed the disguise._

_The uniform also had a scrap sheet of paper inside the pocket. Jill recognized it as Chris' handwriting. 'Jill. Hyatt Regency Lobby, 9 p.m. Keep moving. Don't bother trying to find me. I'll find you. Chris. P.S. When asked for some betting advice, the best choice is to bet on the house.'_

_The postscript puzzled her, but she decided to keep that in mind._

_Several businessmen had already made passes at her, but Jill had shot down all comers. One persistent businessman ended up face-down on the ground via Jill's fist, which gave the other men the hint that she was not interested in them._

_However, there was one man who had approached her from behind. "Excuse me," the man began, his European accent heavy._

_Jill sighed in frustration. "I'm not interested. Now leave before I knock your lights out like I did the last guy."_

_She then froze in mid-step at the man's reply._

_"Actually," the man sounded amused. "I'm looking for some betting advice."_

_It took a moment for Jill not only to remember the postscript from the note, but also that Chris had once spoken to her in a imitation of his late mother's Dutch accent._

_Jill relaxed. Chris had found her. "The best choice is to bet on the house," she replied, turning around._

_Sure enough, despite the day-old stubble on his chin, it was Chris Redfield. Like Jill, he too was dressed incognito, dressed in a dark business suit and trench-coat, blending in with the businessmen._

_"Sorry I'm late," Chris said, speaking in his Dutch accent. Then he dropped the accent. "Traffic on the way in."_

_That was all he managed to get out before letting out a "Oof!" as Jill literally tackled him, causing him to stumble back several steps as his wife of nearly two months glomped him._

_It took all of Jill's willpower not to break out into tears. "I'm sorry..." she whispered. "I should have came with you."_

_"No. I should be sorry," Chris whispered back. "I should have stayed with you." He tilted her head upward, so that she was looking at him. Chris took note that her eyes were brimming with tears. "You're crying."_

_Ever the hardass, Jill wiped her eyes with the back of her hand. "No...I just got something in my eye," she lied._

_Chris smiled. Even after surviving Raccoon City by the skin of her teeth, she still showed no weakness. Chris and her father were the only exception, but they were in public. "You're still a tough nut to crack, Valentine," he said._

_The couple embrace again. It was then that Chris and Jill both noticed the men in black suits closing in on their location. Five in total. "I think we've been made," Jill whispered._

_"I think so too," Chris whispered back. "Let's move."_

[End Flashback]

* * *

_**Turns out that the men in black were Umbrella agents. No surprise there. But before we could make a clean getaway, we were surrounded. Chris had given them the slip earlier, but they finally caught up to him.**_

_**But they were most surprised to see that I was still alive. So their plan was to kill Chris and take me to White Umbrella. But one thing about Chris that I must reiterate is that he knows how to plan ahead. Amazing how a flash grenade works wonders. Chris and I left the Umbrella goons blinded and in the ensuing chaos, Chris and I made a break for the parking garage, where Carlos was having problems of his own.**_

_**Two more Umbrella agents had cornered Carlos, who had taken cover behind a truck, which was at the moment being riddled with bullets from their semi-automatic weapons. But Chris had backup of his own. And it was a friendly face.**_

_**Rita.**_

_**She had survived Raccoon City, much to my relief, as we had lost touch when she evacuated the R.P.D. She was riding shotgun inside a Denver Police Cruiser with Marvin's older brother, Melvin Branagh, who was a police detective with the Denver P.D. Said brother was behind the wheel of the police cruiser and proceeded to run over the two Umbrella agents, turning them into roadkill.**_

_**Chris, Carlos and I piled into the backseat and Branagh put the pedal to the metal and got us the hell out of here. From what I learned from Rita, her and a small number of cops and civilians managed to escape from the R.P.D. before the place went to hell. Branagh remained behind, as I saw his unconscious body when I made my way through the police station after Brad was killed.**_

_**I knew that Umbrella would either bribe or silence those who survived the outbreak, and told Rita as such. Rita already got a job lined up back in Baton Rouge, so she will be hiding out there until the heat dies down. As for Chris, Carlos and myself, it was time to get the hell out of Dodge.**_

_**October 31, 1998**_

_**Things have been a bit hectic in the past couple of weeks, which is why I haven't written anything down. We've been bouncing from city to city to city, hitting Umbrella facilities up and down the West Coast. Aside from that, we've been pursued by Umbrella agents non-stop. It's a miracle that we haven't been burned out from the chase.**_

_**Our last stop was a hidden Umbrella laboratory near the Maine town of Caliban Cove. Now who was leading the ten-person raid was what surprised. It my old instructor from the Army, Lieutenant Jacobson. Unlike the Delta Force that I trained with, he was ex-Ranger. Then it hit me. One of the R.P.D. Officers' names was Jacobson. He was one of the officers who had remained behind at the high school. Sad to say, I found his zombified body while I was on my way to the police station.**_

_**I notified the Lieutenant of his death. He was ready for some get-even with Umbrella.**_

_**One of the members of the raid was a security guard working at the Caliban Cove facility. Several days before our arrival, he had lost contact with the facility. Fearing that another Raccoon-style outbreak could happen, he called in Jacobson, who was a friend of his. The Umbrella facility was out of the way, having been built underneath a lighthouse, a system of sea caves and the shell of a sunken merchant ship. Pretty creative. But we were not the only ones present. Umbrella had sent out a squad of their special agents – the same ones that had tried to kidnap me back in Raccoon.**_

_**We had captured one of them and after Chris threatened to shoot his nuts off, got the story. One of the scientists – a highly-respected virologist by the name of Nicholas Griffin – had went insane and released the T-virus upon the facility. Turns out that Griffin's fiancee was one of the scientists who was at the Spencer Mansion, and had been working on a advanced strain of the T-virus, one that can zombify in less than fifteen minutes. Their orders were to either restrain or in some cases, kill Griffin, and retrieve the notes for the advanced T-virus.**_

_**So the mission parameters were changed. We were to find the documents and destroy them and the facility. But the agent told us another thing that we took heed. We had avoided the majority of the zombies – now Crimson Heads – by taking the long way around to the underwater facility, and that he had gotten separated in a firefight with his teammates. He was also infected, as the bit wound to his leg was starting to fester. Jacobson returned the agent's sidearm to him with one bullet in the chamber. Honorable to the last, just like Chris.**_

_**With a thank you to Jacobson, he handed over a master key which would open any of the doors in the facility, before ending his life with a bullet to the head.**_

_**The main laboratory was located in the system of sea caves underneath the cove. Since we came through the back door, what remained of the Umbrella Special Service, its numbers decimated by the Crimson Heads, had confronted the insane scientist. As we kept hidden, we overhead the conversation between one of the U.S.S. Members, who happened to be a scientist and Griffin.**_

_**Most of it was scientific bull that I could not understand, but Chris explained it to me. The dying operative was right. Griffin had managed to create an advanced strain of T-virus that would zombify in less than ten minutes. Even more worse was that Griffin was able to create at least twelve tanks of the stuff and was planning on unleashing a worldwide outbreak in retaliation.**_

_**We got the jump on the remaining U.S.S. Agents. Sad to say that the security guard which led us here was killed in the firefight. Griffin himself was mortally wounded in the firefight. All of the U.S.S. Agents were killed. Thankfully, the tanks containing the virus were not ruptured in the firefight. But two of Jacobson's members, Steve Lopez and Karen Dryer were mortally wounded.**_

_**We recovered the documents and set them ablaze in the dumpster. Then we set off the self-destruct mechanism. Only problem was that it unlocked all of the doors in the labs, which means we will soon have a mob of ravenous Crimson Heads at our heels. Dryer and Lopez decided to remain behind to cover our escape. We gave them some extra ammo and a hand grenade and wished them luck.**_

_**We were halfway out when we heard the grenade go off, signaling Lopez and Dryer's demise. But we had no time to grieve. Five minutes before the self-destruct mechanism went off and we managed to escape before the place blew. We were treated with the lighthouse collapsing onto itself and the lab being destroyed. Nothing was left.**_

_**With three of their labs destroyed, Umbrella would no doubt increase their efforts in capturing Carlos, Chris and me. Which is why Chris ended up calling in his favor from his friend, Evil Ed. Ed responded by telling us to head for Norfolk and hide out near the naval base there. Chris then called his former commanding officer, who has a friend down in the Falklands that can set us up with a safehouse until things die down here.**_

_**I always wanted to travel. Too bad it's not under better circumstances.**_

Next Chapter: Jill reflects on her escape from Raccoon City. Claire's in trouble and it's up to Chris to rescue her.


	12. 10: Reflections

_**Chapter Ten: Reflections**_

RAF Mount Pleasant, Falkland Islands.

From the diary of Jill Valentine...

_**December 26, 1998**_

_**Spent Christmas in the Falklands. Wish it was under better circumstances. Right now, a day where I don't have to worry about Umbrella is a good day.**_

_**How I ended up in the Falklands, you ask? Thanks to Chris. After Carlos and I reunited with him, things had gotten too hot in the States. Chris, Carlos and I kept hopping around from state to state, trying to stay one step ahead of Umbrella's assassins and blowing up several of their hidden labs. Chris called in a favor to both Evil Ed and his former C.O., Lt. Colonel Graham. Evil Ed provided us with safe transport and shelter upon arrival.**_

_**Since our escape from Caliban Cove, we've been hiding out first at Naval Station Norfolk for most of November, where we boarded a U.S. Navy carrier and left the States. We then transferred onto a R.A.F. Cruiser, the captain being a friend of Chris' British ex-girlfriend, and headed south.**_

_**Since then, we've been taking a much-needed rest. At the moment, the three of us are guests at the RAF Mount Pleasant, 30 miles out from Stanley. Safe harbor from Umbrella for the time being. As it turns out, Chris' former C.O. is friends with the base commander, and fortunately, owed Graham a favor. Looks like the locals aren't too thrilled about Umbrella as well. from what I've heard, Umbrella tried in the past to purchase the Falklands from the British Government, even going as far as to provoke the Argentine military junta to invade, thus triggering the Falklands War of '82, with the guarantee from the Argentine government use of the islands.**_

_**Right now, Chris, Carlos and myself are inside the officers' quarters. Chris is next to me in bed, sleep, while Carlos is in the next room, also knocked out. I guess with escaping Raccoon City and trying to stay one step ahead of Umbrella, I haven't the time to reflect. I guess now it's a good time.**_

_**Where to begin...I guess Raccoon City is as a good of a start.**_

_**It all came down on an ordinary September day in Raccoon. The city itself, from its mayor to the police chief was controlled by the Umbrella Corporation. No one dared to oppose them. And because of that lack of strength, it would all but ultimately lead to the city's destruction. I guess that the city had to suffer the consequences, only this time there would be no forgiveness.**_

_**If only they found the courage to stand against and Umbrella and fight...**_

_**It's true what they say. Nothing can stop the wheels of justice once they began to turn. Absolutely nothing.**_

_**We tried to warn the about Umbrella's motives, but were silenced by Chief Irons, who as we discovered, was in Umbrella's pocket. Chris had left for Europe to investigate Umbrella, Rebecca decided to lay low out of state, Barry had moved his family to Toronto, out of Umbrella's reach. Brad tried to leave for his hometown of Delucia, but was too late. I stayed behind because I heard about a hidden Umbrella laboratory within the city.**_

_**I didn't find the laboratory, so I decided to pack my things and head for Europe. That's when the madness had started. Reports coming in about the dead coming back to life and attacking the living. Zombies everywhere. I was hiding out at Chris's house at the time, having tendered my resignation from the R.P.D. weeks before the outbreak had swept through the city. I tried to make my escape from the city, but the military had it**_

_**Even though I was no longer a officer of the law, I still saw it as my duty to help the survivors. With the help of several police officers, we managed to make West Raccoon High into a haven of safety. By that tie, things had gotten bad in the city, so I had to wait until things died down before I could go and check on the survivors.**_

_**When I managed to get to the high school two days later...**_

_**It...it was a total bloodbath. The high school was supposed to be safe. All those people...men...women...children...the officers assigned to protect them...slaughtered like cattle, then rose from where they were eaten alive, joining the ever growing ranks of the walking dead.**_

_**I silently made my retreat back to Chris' house. On the way back, I ran into Elran.**_

* * *

[Flashback]

_Raccoon City, Colorado - September 24, 1998_

_Sneaking away from West Raccoon High School was easy enough for a former thief of Jill's caliber. But even she was appalled by the slaughter that she had stumbled across._

_The school had been turned into a slaughterhouse. The survivors were holed up inside the school's gymnasium, which was not only locked up tight, but was defended by Elran and several other officers of the Raccoon Police Department. The R.P.D. officers, led by Elran, told Jill that they had everything under control, and that they didn't need her help._

_And now, Jill stood before Elran, who was slumped up against the wall, empty Browning in his left hand. His right forearm had a bite on it, all the way down to the bone, the hand covered with blood. From the look of things, Elran didn't have too long before the T-virus would take hold and he would succumb to the virus, his body joining the ranks of the undead._

_Elran looked up at the former R.P.D. officer. "Valentine."_

_Jill responded in a emotionless tone. "What happened at the school, Elran?"_

_"You saw it yourself," Elran coughed. "Someone on the inside...saw a loved one outside... we tried to stop them from opening the doors. They swarmed in, killing everyone. They didn't know...shit." He looked down at the bite on his arm. "Fucking zombie bitch caught me. I saw...what happens when you die after being bitten...I don't want to end up like them..."_

_Jill remained silent. Sure Elran was one of the crooked cops, but she did not want to wish Elran's impending fate on nobody. Jill calmly retrieved her Samurai Edge from her hip holster and pulled the slide back, ejecting a single bullet. The former thief caught it with one hand, the Beretta's slide snapping closed. Holstering her handgun, Jill crouched down and retrieved Elran's Browning and slid the bullet into the open chamber, which snapped closed._

_Jill then placed the loaded Browning Hi-Power back into Elran's hand._

_Elran accepted the weapon and cocked the Browning's hammer. "Never knew that it would end like this for me," he said. "Tell Chris that...I deserved what he did to me." He raised the gun, resting the barrel against his temple._

_"We should have listened to you and the others, Valentine," he said. "We should have listened."_

_Jill turned away just as Elran pulled the trigger._

[End Flashback]

_**The U.S. Government had blockaded the city from the limits, effectively placing Raccoon City under quarantine. Anyone trying to escape was shot on sight. I stayed in Chris' house for as long as I can, but things got real bad in his neighborhood. Aside from the zombies, there were looters. It was after I had shot three of them when they broke into Chris' home that I decided to leave, the only thing I took with me was the suicide letter from Crackhorn and Chris' M1911 pistol. The R.P.D. was already dangerous enough, so I decided to hide inside my apartment building until things died down.**_

_**The police were forming a counterattack on the walking dead, led by Branagh, Rita and the newly-formed Select Police Force. But it was no use. The zombies had overran their positions, killing many, forcing them to retreat. I came across the failed police barricade and scavenged some weapons and ammo.**_

_**By the 28th of September, the zombies had completely overrun the city. So I decided that it was time to get the hell out of town. But it wouldn't be easy. For starters, I was literally blown out of the back doors of my building, and surrounded by zombies. Surrounded by zombies and looking like I just left happy hour at Bar Jack.**_

_**Note to self: next time I end up escaping a zombie-infested town, a bustier, skirt, jacket and boots is not the best choice of attire. Moving on...**_

_**I ended up inside a warehouse, along with another survivor. Dario Russo. The date: September 28th.**_

* * *

[Flashback]

_Raccoon City - September 28, 1998_

_Jill paced along the metal walkway, her footsteps echoing throughout the small warehouse, contemplating her next move. After narrowly escaping her apartment building hours earlier, she found refuge inside a small warehouse in downtown Raccoon City._

_'The monsters have overtaken the city,' she thought. Looking at her watch, she saw that it was almost noon. 'I wouldn't put it past the U.S. government to try and contain the biohazard. I gotta get the hell out of town before that happens.'_

_She turned to the other occupant of the warehouse. Jill had seen him around at the shoe store down at the Raccoon Mall. A forty-ish blond-haired man, slightly overweight, and scared out of his mind._

_"We got to get out of here," Jill said as she walked down the stairs. "We're on our own here, so we got to find a way out of the city."_

_The man, one Dario Russo, looked at her as if she had lost her mind. "What the hell are you talking about?" he asked, nearly hysterical. "I just lost my baby girl out there!"_

_"Look," Jill replied "I'm sorry for your loss. The government is not going to rescue us. Not for this. We got to get out of the city. Now."_

_"NO!" Russo exploded, his outburst surprising even Jill. "I'm not leaving here!"_

_"But..."_

_Russo cut Jill off as he backed towards the open end of a large storage container. "I...would rather starve to death in here...than to be eaten alive by those Goddamned undead monsters!"_

_"Wait a sec..."_

_"SHUT UP AND LEAVE ME ALONE!" Russo screamed as he climbed into the container and slammed the doors behind him._

_"Hey!" Jill shouted as she chased him. She tried to open the door, but it was locked. Banging on the door, she shouted. "Open the door!"_

_"Go away! I told you already! I'm not leaving here!" Russo bellowed through the door. "Get away from me!"_

_Jill sighed. There was nothing she could do. The only thing she could do was to check up on him later, once she had an escape route secured. Maybe then he would calm down._

[End Flashback]

* * *

_**The walking dead patrolled the streets, as were those damned zombie dogs and a new type of monster that I have never seen before. But there was one monster that stuck out in particular. One that was specifically sent to eliminate any surviving S.T.A.R.S. members.**_

_**The Nemesis.**_

_**Brad warned me about it after I rescued him from being attacked by a zombified cop. I recognized the cop as Bassett. One of the few honest cops. I liked him. Brad's exact words were, "He's coming after us! We're both gonna die!" When I asked what he was talking about, he replied, "You'll see. He's after S.T.A.R.S. members! There's no escape!"**_

_**I always thought that Brad was full of shit. Then as I found out as I reached the police station, he was telling the truth.**_

_**It...it killed Brad right in front of me...in the courtyard of the R.P.D. Then it came after me, chanting 'S.T.A.R.S.' Tall as a Tyrant, faster than a Hunter, and just as ugly. Half of his head held together by surgical staples...the face in a lipless grimace, its one eye staring at me. Purple tentacles snaking out of his arm and his neck...dressed in what looked liked a black trenchcoat, the right arm covered in a black sleeve.**_

_**I barely escaped with my life as I ducked inside the police station. I thought the police station would be a haven of safety. I was wrong. I was forced to execute most of my former co-workers who had transformed into the walking dead, as well as those who turned seeking shelter. The only thing I took from the S.T.A.R.S. office was my lockpick set, a spare knapsack, and Barry's Colt Python. Bless you, Barry for leaving that gun of yours. There was a Remmington shotgun in the locker as well, but since I had already pilfered a shotgun from a dead cop, I left that inside the locker, just in case someone else could use it, as well as the Vietnam-style grenade launcher...although one question remained in the back of my mind: who in the hell can use a bowgun in a zombie outbreak?**_

* * *

En route to Rockfort Island...

Her face covered in a burlap sack, a shackled Claire Redfield sneezed.

'Great,' Claire thought darkly. 'I'm Umbrella's prisoner and I caught something. Either that or someone is talking about me. I am so going to kick my brother's ass for this.'

* * *

_**As I left the R.P.D., the Nemesis struck. Only this time, it was armed with an oversized cannon. I may not be a devoutly religious person, but you can say that it's the grace of the big man upstairs that I survived. As I ran out of the R.P.D., Brad's body was gone. I soon found out why.**_

_**He turned into a zombie. I saw him as I made a beeline to the front gates.**_

_**No time to grieve. No time to put him out of his misery. One second wasted means that the monster that killed him would soon come bearing down on me. I escaped deeper into Raccoon City, using my knowledge of the city's back alleys and back roads to avoid the bulk of the zombies. While running along a back road, I found the body of a soldier. If that seemed out of place, then this guy had the insignia of the Umbrella Corporation on his flak jacket. His journal revealed further information.**_

_**Umbrella had sent in a mercenary unit called the U.B.C.S., the Umbrella Biohazard Countermeasure Service, to Raccoon under the guise of rescuing civilians. In truth, the mercenary force was in fact, a group of 'nightmen who specialize in handling problems caused by illegal products.' His assault rifle – an M16A1 with a M203 Grenade Attachment – was still usable, and he had two extra clips to go along with it as well as well as three grenades.**_

_**The weight of the assault rifle felt reassuring in my hands. Reminded me of the days spent on the firing range back in the Army.**_

_**The Nemesis was also close by. As I hid inside an empty building, I watched as it decimated three of the surviving police officers, killing two the same way he did Brad before leaving. Then I saw them come back to life as the undead. I quietly made my retreat and snuck into the Grill 13 restaurant to catch my breath. Aside from Emmy's Diner, this place had some good memories for me, since Chris would take me there. That's where I met Carlos.**_

* * *

[Flashback]

_Grill 13, Uptown Raccoon City._

_**CRUNCH.**_

_The sound of a boot crushing an overturned wine glass had Jill assuming the worse. Almost immediately, she brought the assault rifle to bear, and spun around._

_Instead of a zombie, she found herself aiming her rifle at a living human being. A South American man, in his early twenties, with shoulder-length dark hair, and dressed in the same uniform she had seen on several dead bodies: black flack vest, olive green shirt, khaki pants, black fingerless gloves, kneepads and combat boots. One hand was gripping his own assault rifle, also a M16A1. Unlike Jill, his assault rifle had no grenade attachment._

_"Whoa, whoa!" the man said, holding up one hand as if to stave off a hail of hot lead should Jill decided to pull the trigger. "Easy with the hardware, lady. I'm not a zombie."_

_After a second, Jill lowered the rifle. "Sorry about that," she apologized._

_"First sign of life and she aims a gun at me," the man replied. "And from the look of things, you know how to use it. You ex-military?"_

_"That, and I used to be a cop. Who are you?"_

_"Corporal Carlos Oliveira," the man introduced himself. "Umbrella Biohazard Countermeasue Service, Delta Platoon, Alpha Squad. You are?"_

_"Jill Valentine, former officer of the Raccoon Police Department."_

_Before Jill could ask what was Carlos doing in the city, the back door opened, then slammed, which was followed by the inhuman roar that heralded the arrival of the monster which had killed her friend._

[End Flashback]

* * *

_**I swear, Chris has been rubbing off on me. Despite being better equipped, I was still no match for the Nemesis. So I improvised. One leaking gas tank and a lit candle does work wonders, if only temporary. With the walking murder machine out of the picture for the moment, I took Carlos outside to ask him some questions.**_

* * *

[Flashback]

_Once they were outside, Jill decided to question Carlos about his unit's intentions. "Wait a sec."_

_"Let me guess, you want to ask me out on a date, right?" Carlos guessed._

_Jill blinked. "Excuse me?"_

_Carlos shrugged his shoulders. "No need to be coy, Valentine. It's the accent, right? I know it drives the ladies wild."_

_"You're not my type," Jill replied. "Besides, I'm a married woman."_

_"Shame. What is it you want to know?"_

_"It's not like Umbrella to send in a squad of mercenaries. What's your mission here?"_

_"Civilian rescue mission," Carlos replied, as if he had been told this plenty of times. "Find any surviving civilians, giving any Umbrella high-ups high-priority, then head on over to the clock tower for extraction." He then caught the look on Jill's face. It was one of anger. He took one step back. "Umm...did I say something wrong?"_

_"You're full of shit," Jill snapped. "Look around you! This fucking outbreak is Umbrella's fault!"_

_"Calm down, Jill," Carlos said, taking another step back. "I'm just a mercenary. A hired hand, that's all. I go where the money is. Look, come with me to the cable car. We got a plan to get to the Clock Tower. You want to help, then you can tag along."_

[End Flashback]

* * *

_**He may have been a merc, but he was trustworthy. Being an ex-thief, you learn how to read the body language of others. So I threw in my lot with Carlos. I told him about the chain of events which led to this point as he took me to two other people who were at the moment, hiding inside one of the city's trolleys. Lieutenant Mikhail Victor and Sergeant Nicholai Ginovaef.**_

_**Mikhail was injured pretty badly, while Nicholai looked quite surprised when I told him that I was a former member of S.T.A.R.S. My own curiosity was piqued when he knew that we were a special forces team.**_

_**Carlos laid out the plan - we reach the clock tower and use the bell to call for the extraction chopper. Not a bad plan actually. So we split up. Nicholai went on by himself, while Carlos and myself teamed up to look for the supplies to repair the trolley. Aside from the gas station blowing up and the Umbrella sales office and the power substation being swarmed by more zombies, as well as the Nemesis making an appearance, we got the parts needed.**_

_**Before I headed back to the trolley, I decided to try one last time to convince Russo to come with us. When I returned to the warehouse, I found the man dead, killed by zombies. I should have been more forceful, should have made him come with me...then again, he probably wouldn't have survived for long. As cold as that sounded, that was the truth.**_

_**As Carlos and I cut through Ennerdale, the Nemesis showed up again. Fortunately, he did not see us, as Carlos and I were hiding behind a car. Turns out that Umbrella had sent in another Tyrant to wipe out any survivors. Just as tall, but more human-like in appearance, clad in a green longcoat and steel-toed boots. This time, the Nemesis and the other Tyrant began to fight it out in the streets, even laying waste to a mob of Crimson Heads – former civilians that had undergone the V-ACT – before fighting each other once again. Carlos and I made our escape back to the trolley.**_

_**Nicholai was thought to have been killed when we repaired the trolley and got it to work. But we had more problems. An unwanted stowaway.**_

_**The Nemesis.**_

_**Mikhail held him off as he told me to escape. Brave fool. The Nemesis tossed him around like a redheaded stepchild. Then I noticed that Mikhail had something in his hand.**_

_**A pin.**_

_**A grenade pin.**_

_**I pulled Carlos to the ground just as the grenade detonated, the blast knocking the monster off the trolley. Mikhail sacrificed his life to make sure that we survived. We managed to reach the clock tower...well, actually, the car ended up crashing through the walls of the place. Carlos was starting to lose it, so I had to slap the guy to get him to calm down. Instead, he ran off, nerves fried. Wuss.**_

_**Not going into details, I got the tower bell to work and summoned the extraction chopper. I thought that the nightmare was finally over.**_

_**Then the Nemesis appeared and destroyed the chopper with his rocket launcher. Then he came after me. I still haven't told Chris about what had happened, that he infected me with the T-virus. Carlos showed up and was able to do some damage by destroying the Nemesis' rocket launcher. I fought the monster with what I had, using up the ammo in the assault rifle and the grenade launcher, until the monster collapsed in the flames.**_

_**I passed out soon afterward.**_

_**I woke up to the sound of falling rain on the night of October the first. Carlos had carried me to the chapel following the battle two days earlier. From what I read about the T-virus, I knew its symptoms. High fever, swelling itchy skin...fortunately, I was still fighting the fever. Carlos knew about the hidden lab inside the hospital and promised to find a cure for the virus. But not before I made him promise that should he find me as a zombie, that he should do the honors of putting me out of my misery.**_

_**The virus had weakened me pretty bad. I think I may had passed out again. I was out for maybe an hour when I felt something jab into my arm. When I came to, I saw Carlos holding an empty syringe. He had managed to synthesize the cure. I would live. But more importantly, I would see Chris again.**_

_**After ditching the Nemesis inside the city park, I ran into Nicholai at the city cemetery. He was surprised to see that I was still alive. Come to think of it, so was I. After all, I thought he had bought it back inside the gas station. After exchanging words, I found a hidden room inside the caretaker's shed after he had left the shed. Inside, I found a communique which had verified my greatest fears: the federal government had planned to destroy the city by dawn in order to contain the outbreak.**_

_**I always thought that Yawn was bad, but the giant-ass, man-eating worm that tore up the graveyard was just as bad. Too bad that it suffered a fatal case of electrocution. I left its smoking corpse behind in the graveyard as I backtracked to the park. I've hears rumors about an abandoned factory located behind the park, and decided to check it out.**_

_**Had to go in through the sewers because I ran into the Nemesis on the bridge. I ran into Carlos once again This time around, we split up, not before he gave me a map of the facility telling me to meet up with him at the control tower. There, a short run to the helicopter and we could get the hell out of the city. However, Nicholai reached the control tower first and activated the shutter behind him.**_

_**It took a bit of backtracking, but I found a dead scientist with the card needed to open the shutter. Only problem was that it was inside a disposal room, situated above the disposal area. Even bigger problem was that the Nemesis had caught up with me. But this time around, I got lucky. He had broke one of the pipes in the room, and was doused with acidic liquids, which had destroyed the majority of his tentacles. So I capitalized on that, luring him close to the pipes and blasting them open. His right arm dropped off, followed by his head. I left his smoking corpse behind, just as the disposal room activated.**_

_**I rushed back to the locked room, and met Carlos along the way. However, Nicholai, had managed to reach the chopper before the both of us...**_

* * *

[Flashback]

_Carlos and Jill ducked as Nicholai fired upon the tower from inside his chopper, Carlos letting loose a string of profanity in Spanish and Portuguese. After a moment, the chopper had stopped firing._

_"I don't see the need to waste my ammo on the both of you," Nicholai's voice had said. "I got what I came for."_

_Jill stood up and flipped on the mike. "So you plan on leaving here alone? Was that it?" she asked, looking at Nicholai._

_"Correct," the gray-haired Russian replied. "Of course, there was the surviving Supervisors which had also came along with the U.B.C.S. I had personally made sure that they would come back from this mission."_

_"You bastard!" Carlos shouted. "You killed all those people! For what?"_

_Nicholai chuckled. "Bargaining power for discussing my bonus. After all, I alone will know what has happened here."_

_"Let me guess," Jill cut in. "Even though I'm not on their payroll, Umbrella has a price on my head?"_

_"Yes," Nicholai replied. "White Umbrella has failed to capture you, so they decided to cut their losses and ordered your termination. Pity. You were good, Miss Valentine. Real good. The amount for your life is more than modest, but the reward is to be claimed upon confirmation of your death. You may have survived the Spencer Mansion, but you are doomed, Miss Valentine. Soon, this city and the T-virus will be purged with nuclear fire, and you along with it. Accept your death with dignity...or die with regret. The choice is up to you." He waved at the two fuming survivors. "Dasvidaniya, Miss Valentine."_

_The chopper then turned around and flew off._

[End Flashback]

* * *

_**I almost gave up. I almost resigned myself to my fate, until I heard a broken radio message. The voice sounded familiar, saying that it was coming for me. Because of that voice, I got a second wind.**_

_**I climbed down the ladder and followed the path. Behind the dead factory, was an auto junkyard. Something stood out in particular. The same Tyrant that Carlos and I had seen fighting the Nemesis – bald, longcoat and steel-toed boots. There were several, along with a document regarding a super-weapon. A rail cannon, to be more precise. Had to push in three batteries to make the damn thing work.**_

_**Then the Nemesis made its final appearance. It had survived its dip into the pools below. Whatever was in that pool had mutated the Nemesis into a new form. Thankfully, it was more concerned with the Tyrant rather than me. I shoved the remaining batteries into their slots and activated the rail cannon. The first shot blew a chunk out of the scrap metal, while the second shot nailed it. I thought that it was dead, but it stll came after me. I found a loaded Magnum and unloaded all six shots into its body before leaving.**_

_**There, I found Carlos, along with the chopper.**_

_**As we made our final escape from Raccoon, I found out that the pilot was Barry. He had came back at Chris' request to airlift me out of the city, and not a moment too soon. As soon as we reached the Arklay Mountains, the city was destroyed. The U.S. government had launched a nuclear missile at the city, effectively destroying Raccoon City and containing the outbreak.**_

_**As I passed out from the exhaustion, I promised myself that one way or another...Umbrella will pay.**_

* * *

Morning in the Falklands.

The morning air drifted into the open window inside the safehouse's master bedroom. Chris was already awake, while his wife was on her side, still asleep. Carlos was in a separate bedroom, snoring gently.

Chris was on his laptop, checking his email when he noticed one from someone named Leon Kennedy, claiming to be a friend of his sister's. Feeling a sense of dread, Chris opened the email.

_**Chris,**_

_**Claire's in trouble. Went to Raccoon City to look for you, but got caught up in the zombie outbreak. She's been captured by Umbrella while in Europe looking for you, and sent to Rockfort Island, near the Falklands.**_

Chris didn't even bother to read the rest of the email. Claire had been captured by Umbrella while she was looking for him. Only one word came into Chris's mind.

'Crap.'

* * *

By the time Jill had woken up, she saw that Chris was already awake...and he did not look very happy.

She soon found out why.

Inside the study, Jill and Carlos looked over a map of the Atlantic Ocean. The brunette scanned the map for a moment before he stopped, one index finger pointing at the small island near the Falklands.

"There it is," Jill said. "Rockfort Island. Just where Leon said it would be. Thirty miles out from the Falklands."

"Yeah," Carlos said. "I've heard about it. Some of the guys back in the U.B.C.S. talk about the place. Not only it's Umbrella's private prison, but it's also home to a laboratory. That's the last place you want to end up...especially if you're on their shitlist."

"If Claire's there, then I'm going in," Chris said as he entered the room, dressed and ready to rescue his sister.

Jill recognized it as his pilots' uniform whenever he was assigned to chopper duty back in the R.P.D.; a short-sleeved, military-style olive green shirt and matching pants, and combat boots. Attached to one leg was a leg holster. Jill recognized the gun inside as a Glock. In one hand, was a small satchel full of ammo and more guns, while in the other, was a black tactical vest with the words R.P.D. S.T.A.R.S. stitched above the upper right pocket, while the S.T.A.R.S. insignia was on the back.

"I'm coming with you," Jill said as she stood up, but was stopped by Chris.

"No. You and Carlos will wait for this Leon guy to arrive and then head for Sydney. I'll rendezvous with you there. Evil Ed will set us up in a safehouse until my former CO arrives."

"But Chris - " Jill interjected.

"Jill, I gotta do this alone," Chris replied firmly as he slipped on the black vest and slung the satchel over one shoulder. "You just survived Raccoon City. I'm not going to stick you in any more danger for the time being. Now it's my turn to jump out the frying pan and into the fire." He silenced Jill by placing one hand on her shoulder. "Jill...don't argue with me."

Jill sighed. "Okay. You win. But you better come back alive, Redfield. You die on me, I'll bring you back and kick your ass for making me a widow."

"I'll be back, Jill," Chris reassured her. "Count on it." He sighed. "Not a real good way to spend the holidays, rescuing my sister," he mumbled. "Even when I'm away, she has a habit of getting herself into trouble. Leon should arrive within the hour. Once he arrives, you and Carlos head for Sydney."

"Can we trust this guy?" Carlos asked.

"Counter-question: can I trust you, seeing as how you worked for Umbrella?" Chris rebuked, arms folded.

"I did save Jill's life," Carlos said in his defense. "Besides, like I told her, I'm freelance. I'm not on their payroll."

"Fair enough," Chris said.

Next Chapter: Chris and Claire reunite with Jill, Carlos and Claire in Sydney following Claire's rescue. An old enemy resurfaces. Chris and Jill get an interesting offer from his former boss.


	13. 11: Code Veronica  Aftermath

**Chapter Eleven: Code: Veronica - Aftermath**

A.N.: Once again, following Capcom tradition, I am modeling Roland Graham (the future President Graham) after the actor Bruce Greenwood (Captain Pike from Star Trek 2009). Also, this chapter is long, as it has flashbacks from Nemesis and CVX.

Over the Antarctic – December 28, 1998

The VTOL soared through the frozen Antarctic, en route to Sydney. By the time Chris and Claire would arrive, Jill would already be there.

Sydney was one of the few places in the Oceanic region where Umbrella had no influence. On top of that, a close friend of Chris's from his stint as a UN peacekeeper had a safehouse already prepared once he arrived.

Piloting the VTOL was child's play to Chris Redfield. He was already an accomplished pilot back in the Air Force, being able to fly anything from fighter jets to gunships. Chris turned his head to check up on his sister. She was looking out over the frozen Antarctic landscape with a withdrawn look on her face. Soon, the ice turned to water, as they were flying over the Pacific.

Chris turned his attention back towards the front. "You want to talk about it?" he asked.

"Talk about what?" was his sister's reply.

"About Steve."

"What's there to talk about, Chris? He's dead and Wesker got his body." She sighed. "How can you deal with this?" she huffed in frustration.

"Ah," Chris nodded in understanding. "You have survivor's guilt. Don't feel too bad, Claire. Jill and I have the same thing."

"What?"

"Since we got a while before we reach Sydney, I guess it would be a good time to explain everything. You remember the cannibal murders that started back in Raccoon City?"

"Yeah, you mentioned them to me. You were glad that I decided to attend college out of Raccoon."

"The murders got so bad that S.T.A.R.S. was asked to intervene in the case. But it was just a setup by Wesker. He was on Umbrella's payroll as a researcher. Bravo Team went in first. Their chopper went down near a train carrying Umbrella employees en route to an Umbrella facility. By the time my unit was activated, damn near half of Bravo was killed. Edward Dewey was one of the first casualties.

"July 21...I'll never forget that day," Chris continued. "Wesker led us in. We found the remains of Bravo Team's chopper. Kevin was still strapped inside his seat, dead. Then we were attacked. Joseph was mauled to death by those damned dogs. Wesker led us to the mansion. There, we found a whole new nightmare, as well as what was left of Bravo Team. Kenneth was eaten by a zombie, we found footage of his demise...Forest was pecked to death by infected crows. Wesker had booby-trapped his body with explosives and left him for me and Jill. I had the unfortunate duty to put him out of his misery."

Claire was silent as her brother spoke.

"Jill found Richard. He was poisoned by a giant mutant snake. She managed to find the cure for the venom, but Richard was killed saving Jill from being eaten alive by a giant shark. Enrico survived long enough to make it to the catacombs, but Wesker killed him with a bullet to the head. Out of all of us, Barry, Jill, Rebecca and myself are the sole surviving members of S.T.A.R.S. Brad was killed in Raccoon." Something then clicked in his head. "Wait...when did you show up in Raccoon?"

"September 29th," Claire replied. "Leon, Sherry and I managed to escape on the 30th." She paused for a moment. "Was he the chicken-shit in the yellow vest?"

"Yeah, that's Chickenheart Vickers alright. You were in Raccoon the same time Jill made her escape."

"I ran into him back in the R.P.D.," Claire admitted. "The poor guy was a zombie. I had to put him out of his misery. Same with Marvin Branagh. He turned into a zombie before my eyes. I also ran into you ex-girlfriend too. She didn't make it. I had to shoot her as well." She sighed. "Stacey was a bitch for what she had done to you, but I would not want that to happen to her."

* * *

[Flashback]

_Raccoon Police Department, September 29, 1998._

_Claire had made it to the R.P.D. before Leon had did. Using the keycard that Marvin had given her before he kicked her out of the squad room, she had unlocked the two doors inside the main hall._

_Having been to the R.P.D. during her brother's tenure as a member of S.T.A.R.S., Claire knew the layout of the place very well. She entered the double doors and stepped into the receptionist lobby. Nothing. She could see inside the squad room through the glass and saw that Branagh was gone, a small trail of blood showing that he had moved further back into the room._

_The following hall, Claire had ran into a particular nasty creature. From the police documents she had discovered, the R.P.D. had named the monster with the killer tongue the 'Licker.' Claire ended up using what remained of the ammo from the bowgun she had pilfered from Kendo's corpse._

_She came across the briefing room. Nothing inside. Upon reaching the hallway with the stairs leading to the second floor, she discovered two zombies on both sides of the hall. Civilians who had taken cover inside the police station, thinking that Raccoon's finest would protect them from the walking dead.  
_

_Judging the number of zombies she had seen wearing the colors of the Raccoon Police Department, it was clear that the police had all but failed._

_Claire retrieved her Browning and took aim. Two shots was all she needed, as the two zombies fell to the floor, the bodies twitching as Claire stepped over the closest one, heading for the stairs._

_Something caught her attention from the corner of her eye. Claire turned to see what it was._

_It was a woman, kneeling over the body of a long-dead man. Short dark brown hair, dressed in a red haltertop, green cutoff shorts that showed off her legs, and a pair of Converse sneakers._

_She was also pale. Pale as death, the flesh a sickly-looking gray, an obvious sign of discolor and decay, meaning she had been dead for quite some time._

_With a moan, the female zombie rose from her meal, sensing fresh meat, and turned around shambling towards Claire, who recognized her immediately._

_"Oh, God," Claire whispered. "Stacey..."_

_Stacey Kelso, her brother's ex-fiancée. The body she had been feasting on was that of her late husband, his insides all but missing. Stacey herself had a bite wound on her right shoulder, bloodied sinew and collarbone exposed, as well as a chunk of flesh missing from her left side, exposing several of her bloodied ribs. Like the other walking dead, her eyes were glazed over, solid white. The bottom half of her face, as well as her hands, was covered in blood and gore._

_Sure Stacey had hurt her brother, but despite it all, this was a fate worse than death, even for someone as heartless as Stacey._

_Claire didn't hesitate. She leveled the Browning and squeezed the trigger._

**_BLAM!_**

_The parabellum round caved in the undead woman's skull, splattering bone and gore on the wall behind her, the force of the round also sending Stacey flying back, where she landed on her dead husband._

_Claire didn't take any chances. She put a bullet into the man's head before ascending the stairs, passing what used to be a window, which had been destroyed, along with a small chunk of the wall, as it...something had all but broke through the wall._

[End Flashback]

* * *

"So you shot Stacey, huh? The only thing you can do when dealing with survivor's guilt is just go on living." Chris sighed. "Wesker should have been dead back in that damn lab. We all saw him get impaled by the Tyrant. But he's alive and things are going to get very complicated. I didn't want you to get involved in this war, Claire. As long as you were in the dark, you were safe. Now, Umbrella's gonna come after you as well."

"Like it or not, big brother, I'm already involved," Claire replied. "And you're the only family I got left."

"Not really," Chris muttered.

"'Not really?' What does that mean?"

"You'll see when we reach Sydney."

Claire frowned. "Sydney? As in Sydney, Australia?"

Chris nodded. "Yup. That's where we're headed."

* * *

Sydney, New South Wales, Australia – nighttime.

Jill Valentine watched in anticipation as the VTOL landed in front of the hangar. It had been a nail-biting three days since Chris had left for Rockfort Island in pursuit of his sister.

Jill was not alone. Aside from herself, she was accompanied by Carlos Oliveira and a third person – the man who had emailed Chris about his sister's plight: the former member of the R.P.D.'s Select Police Force, Leon Scott Kennedy. Unknown to Jill was Chris's request to have Leon escort Jill to Sydney, where the survivors would later regroup.

The VTOL's engines were shut down, its canopy opened for the first time in hours. Out stepped Chris Redfield, followed by his sister. To Jill and the others, both looked like they went toe-to-toe with a bear and lost. They were battered and bruised, but still alive.

In an instant, Jill rushed over to her husband, throwing her arms around him, ignoring the grunts of pain that came from him as Chris returned the embrace.

Claire watched wide-eyed as Jill began smothering kisses all over her brother's face.

"Christopher...Lawrence...Redfield...I...am...so...mad...at...you...right...now," Jill said in between kisses.

Leon and Carlos watched the scene with bemused expressions on their faces.

"I'm alive," Chris replied. "And so is my sister. That's all that matters."

Claire was watching this scene with shock. "Umm...did I miss something here?" Claire butted in. "Jill, I know that the both of you are dating, but you don't have to try and inhale my brother's face in front of me."

Chris's response to that was that he slipped off his left glove. Claire's jaw dropped when she saw the wedding band on his ring finger.

"Bwa...you...and...her?" Claire squeaked, one finger pointing at Jill, who showed off a similar wedding band on her now-gloveless finger.

"Claire...say hello to your sister-in-law," Chris said, smiling.

"Wait, I know that the both of you were dating, but you got married and you didn't even tell me?" Claire half-shouted.

"It was a spur-of-the-moment thing," Jill admitted. "It was my idea to begin with. We've been dating for almost a year. We've been married for almost four months. We kept it a secret because the R.P.D. at the time looked down on its employees having a relationship. We were going to tell you...sooner or later."

Chris allowed his sister to pick up her jaw from the ground as he and Jill turned to Leon and Carlos. As Claire recovered, Chris conducted the introductions. "Claire, this is Carlos Oliveira, ex-Umbrella mercenary. Carlos, my sister, Claire Redfield."

Claire nodded in response. Carlos did the same.

Leon stepped forward. "So you're Chris Redfield. Claire's told me a lot about you."

Chris shook Leon's hand. "And you're Leon Kennedy. Nice to see a face to match the name. Thanks for watching out for my sister."

"No problem," Leon replied. "But from what I've seen, Claire's learned how to take care of herself. She's got some moves on her."

"What's this?" another male voice cut in, his voice heavy with his English accent. "You're holding a party and didn't invite me, Redfield? I'm insulted."

Chris turned to the source of the voice and smiled as a bald-headed man approached, walking with a limp. He released Jill so that he could confront the newcomer, shaking his hand. "Evil Ed. Good to see you, man. How's the leg?"

"I'll manage," Ed replied. He turned to Jill. "I take it this is your wife?"

Chris nodded. "Yeah. Ed, Jill Valentine. Jill, this is Edmond MacPherson."

Ed took Jill's hand and kissed it, the true epitome of an English gentleman. "Formerly of Her Majesty's Royal Air Force. Chris has told me about your beauty. Looks like he was correct."

Jill blushed slightly. "You're just flattering me." The name then clicked in her head. "Wait. Chris told me about you. You were the injured man Chris went back after."

Ed nodded. "That's me all right. I owe Chris my life. When he was kicked out of the Air Force, I resigned my commission and moved here. I work with the Australian government as an analyst. When I found out you were coming, I cleared it with the federal government here to have a safe house lined up for you and your friends."

Jill looked at Chris. "You sure got some powerful contacts," she said.

Chris shrugged his shoulders. "I got my ways. Evil Ed here is as honest as they come. A bit eccentric, but he never lets you down."

"Turns out the lot of you are pretty famous given your exploits regarding Umbrella," Ed said as he led them to a van. "Word sure gets around. Fortunately for you, the Aussies have no dealings with Umbrella whatsoever. Sure they buy their medical products, but the Prime Minister won't allow them to build any facilities here. I also got in touch with your former C.O., Chris. He should arrive by tomorrow. Oh, and don't worry about the Harrier. I got that covered."

"That's good to hear," Chris replied. "Let's go already."

* * *

Inside the waterfront safe house, complete with a nice view of the Sydney Opera House in the distance, Chris and Jill were in the master bedroom. Leon and Claire were reconnecting in the living room, while Carlos was asleep in the spare bedroom.

Jill helped Chris out of the black vest, Chris wincing as he managed to take the article of clothing off. "So what happened out there?" she asked, looking at the burnt vest as Chris managed to get the shirt off, exposing his torso and the myriad of cuts, burns and bruises.

"Everything," Chris replied as Jill unscrewed a small container filled with healing salve. He gave her a full account of what had happened while on Rockfort Island and how he chased Claire to the Antarctic Facility.

"Jill...we got a big problem," Chris said as Jill worked on applying some of the salve onto his shoulders. "He's back."

"Who?" Jill asked, puzzled.

"Blond hair, wears black, expensive shades," Chris replied.

Then it dawned on Jill as to who Chris was hinting, her blue eyes going wide. Only one person fit that description. "No...no way. You can't be serious! We saw him get impaled by the Tyrant!"

Chris nodded grimly. "I know. But Wesker's alive...and he got some new tricks."

"New tricks?"

* * *

[Flashback]

_Rockfort Island – December 28, 1998_

_"Well, well...Chris Redfield, as I live and breathe. It's been a while."_

_Chris froze in his tracks. 'That voice...it can't be...!' he thought as he turned around._

_Standing before him, alive and well was Albert Wesker. Blonde hair combed back, the pair of shades over his eyes, clad in black commando gear, the smug look on his face._

_"Wesker...?" Chris croaked._

_Wesker chuckled. "The one and only. Surprised to see me? You can say that I got a new lease on life."_

_"What are you doing here?"_

_Wesker adjusted his shades. "Isn't it obvious? I came for Alexia."_

_Chris remembered that name. Birkin mentioned it to Wesker on the day of the robbery attempt at the bank._

_Realization soon crept across Chris' face. "It was you...you attacked the island...and Claire!"_

_Wesker mock-clapped. "Bravo, Redfield. That is correct. I ran into Claire earlier. Sorry to disappoint you, but she is no longer here. She escaped to the Umbrella facility in the Antarctic. Too bad you won't be rescuing her."_

_"Wanna bet?" Chris shot back as he yanked his Glock from his hip holster..._

_...only to be sent flying back to the far wall._

_As Chris had raised his gun at Wesker, the blond man reacted. Moving at superhuman speed, he introduced his elbow into Chris' breastplate, causing Chris to end up in a heap up against the wall._

_"As you can see, Chris," Wesker addressed the younger man, "Not only do I have a new lease on life..." he rushed over, grabbed Chris by the throat and lifted him clean off the ground. "...but I got some new tricks up my sleeve."_

_Chris' response to that was to slug Wesker across the face. Wesker's head rocked with the blow, his glasses having been knocked from his face. He slowly turned his head back towards Chris, giving the younger man a look at his new eyes._

_Chris had seen Wesker without his shades several times, so he knew that Wesker's eye color was nearly the same as Jill's. Now, his eyes were anything but. Instead of the the ice-cold blue eyes, Wesker's eyes had became more sinister. The pupils were yellow with a reddish hue, the irises slitted like a reptile's._

_"You have no idea how much I hate your guts, Chris," Wesker snarled. "You should have joined Umbrella when you had the chance. Once I kill you, I will track down Valentine and the others and kill them as well."_

_As it appeared to be the end for Chris, his only saving grace was a nearby monitor coming to life, revealing the face of a blonde woman._

_Wesker turned his head as her laughter distracted him from strangling Chris to death. "Alexia...so it's true," he said as he tossed Chris aside, the latter's body bouncing off a test tube before falling to the ground. Wesker retrieved his shades and slipped them back on. "I'll let you live for now, Chris. Don't disappoint me."_

[End Flashback]

* * *

"The way he moved, Jill," Chris said. "It was superhuman. He must have taken something back in Raccoon. He now has superhuman strength and agility. Hell, when I punched him, it barely stopped him. Jill, I dropped several tons of I-beams on him and that only fazed him. I barely escaped the last two times I ran into him. The fucker managed to escape by submarine. I think he's working for a rival organization. Things are going to get real complicated." He looked at her. "Sorry if I made you worry. Claire's the only family I got left besides you."

"I know," Jill replied.

Since Jill was wearing a tanktop, Chris noticed something. "Hey...what's that?" he asked, pointing to a small pinkish scar on her right shoulder. From the look of things, the scar was very recent.

Jill knew what Chris was pointing at. It was a memento from Raccoon City, one that was at the time, potentially lethal. "It's nothing," she replied a little too quickly.

Chris frowned. "Jill...no secrets, remember?"

Jill sighed. "I got this when I was trying to escape from Raccoon City," she explained. "Remember what I told you about the Nemesis?" When Chris nodded, Jill continued.

* * *

[Flashback]

_Raccoon City, Colorado – September 28, 1998_

_Saint Michael Clock Tower._

_A lone military helicopter with the insignia of the Umbrella Biohazard Countermeasure Service arrived on schedule upon hearing the bell's toll._

_Jill exited the clock tower through the front doors and saw the chopper circling overhead. "Hey! Down here!" she shouted, waving at the chopper._

_As the chopper circled around to find a good landing zone, Jill was beaming. 'Finally...it's over.'_

_But it was not meant to be._

_From the corner of her eye, Jill saw something from atop of some rubble across the street. Her blood ran cold as she recognized the monster._

_The Nemesis. And he was armed with his rocket launcher._

_"NO!" Jill screamed as the Nemesis took aim and fired one rocket at the chopper._

_The white, gleaming rocket caught the chopper's tail blade and rudder, sending it crashing into the clock tower. Jill had to get out of the way in order to avoid the flaming chopper's rubble and that from the tower itself._

_Jill watched in horror as her chance for escape went up in flames, literally._

_Then the Nemesis hopped down from its perch, still holding the launcher in one hand. "S.T.A.R.S.," the B.O.W. chanted._

_He cocked one fist – which was the size of a human hand – back and swung at Jill, who hopped back from the attempted blow._

_Jill raised the Colt Python in her hand, hoping to take the Nemesis' head off with several shots from the high-caliber weapon, but then then Nemesis thrust its hand forward, launching a purple tentacle from its palm._

_"Aahh!" Jill cried out in pain as the tentacle pierced her shoulder in a shallow cut._

_It was then she realized that something was very, very wrong. After watching this monster take out three of the surviving members of the R.P.D., it dawned on her, a horrifying realization._

_The monster used the same tentacle move on those three cops. Once the Nemesis was gone, the three dead cops rose from where they had been slain._

_'Oh, God,' Jill thought as she felt weak. 'The bastard infected me with the T-virus.'_

[End Flashback]

* * *

Chris swallowed. "You mean...you were infected with the T-virus?"

Jill nodded. "I stayed in the chapel until the first of October. Carlos managed to reach the hospital and synthesize a cure for me."

Chris sighed. 'Looks like I was wrong about Oliveira,' he thought. 'He saved Jill's life.' He placed one hand on Jill's cheek. "I'm glad you made it out of Raccoon alive. I shouldn't had left you. Dick would never forgive me if something happened to you."

Jill kissed his palm. "It's okay." She then looked at Chris as she realized what he had said. "Wait a second...what does my dad have to do with this?"

Chris thought about lying his way out of his predicament, but that would make him a hypocrite, asking Jill to be honest with him and he didn't offer her the same courtesy. So he told Jill about the conversation he and Dick had when they had first met back in Lakeview, and the promise to keep her out of trouble.

"Falling in love with you wasn't part of the plan," Chris confessed. "But I'm glad I did. You really are something."

Jill looked at him long and hard. Then she chuckled to herself, shaking her head. "Honestly..." she replied. "Even while in prison, Dad's still looking out for me."

"So you're not mad?" Chris asked. "Ow!" he yelped as Jill slugged him in the arm. "Easy on the arm. I'm already bruised."

"That's for keeping that piece of info from me," Jill said.

"Your dad asked me to," Chris defended as Jill continued to apply the salve. "He also told me why you tend to push other people away. I really don't blame you for not being able to trust people so easily."

"He did, huh?"

"Makes me glad you didn't try and kick my ass back in Raccoon when I kissed you," Chris mused. "So...how did you escape from the Nemesis?"

Jill thought about it for a moment. "Well..."

* * *

[Flashback]

Raccoon City, Colorado - October 1, 1998

_The Dead Factory._

_Inside the factory, the bodies of U.S. Special Forces and several of Umbrella's bioweapons were littered all over the place. It was as if World War III was fought in this room...and neither side won, since there was nobody...or nothing left alive._

_Her shoulder was still sore from where the Nemesis had once infected her two days prior, but Jill was feeling better already. The T-virus vaccine that Carlos had synthesized for her was doing its work. She would see Chris again._

_Right now, she was scanning the room, the grenade launcher in her hands. The satchel she had retrieved while inside the Clock Tower held plenty of ammo for that and of her Samurai Edge, the aforementioned weapon was in its holster._

_Jill inspected one of the massive bioweapons, which was slumped against the wall. It reminded her of the Tyrant back at the Arklay Laboratory, only this one was more humanoid. Eight feet tall, bald, the skin white as death, dressed in a trenchcoat, pants and heavy boots._

_It was certainly an improvement over the one she and the others fought back at the labs, but if she knew Umbrella, this new Tyrant was just as deadly._

_'At least the Nemesis is gone,' Jill thought as she inspected the Tyrant which was literally embedded in the wall._

_Their last encounter inside the factory did not go too well for the persistent bioweapon. She had came across one of the dead scientists (Jill, as a a precaution, put a bullet in the dead body's head, just to be safe) inside the factory's waste room. Once she had retrieved the card key that would unlock the shutter, she had heard the door lock, and a countdown was initiated._

_She realized that the room she was in was directly above the waste disposal area, and that everything in the room she was in would be dumped into the room below. And given what's **in** the waste area, that will almost certainly be fatal, even for Miss Valentine._

_Then the Nemesis struck. As Jill dodged its tentacle swings, she saw that the tentacle had struck a pipe, spilling highly corrosive liquid all over the monster, burning it severely and destroying several of its tentacles. Jill had capitalized on it, blasting away at several of the pipes, until the Nemesis fell in a heap, the head falling from the rest of its body as it collapsed._

_By some miracle, the door had unlocked and Jill narrowly escaped. Once the door was closed, the disposal room performed its task, dumping the Nemesis - and everything else - into the volatile liquid below._

_Jill thought she had destroyed the Nemesis once and for all._

_Which led her back inside the massive power room. Jill turned her attention from the dead Tyrant and soon found the massive rail cannon codenamed 'Paracelsus' Sword.' The cannon itself was hooked to the room's power supply, along with three massive batteries that were strewn across the room._

_The cannon itself was aimed at a 45-degree angle, pointing towards the embedded Tyrant on the far end of the wall, the weapon itself incredibly huge, meaning that the Special Forces had to bring it in piece by piece and assembled it while fighting off the Tyrants in a last stand._

_Jill saw that the door leading to the scrapyard was locked electronically, so she went to the laptop hooked to the cannon. Punching in several keys, the screen told her that she had to push in the three batteries in numerical order. Frowning to herself, she looked at her watch. Less than twenty minutes before the missile strike._

_Jill sighed as she set about her task. The first battery was near the walled Tyrant. Once that battery was pushed into the slot, she received an unwanted visitor._

_The Nemesis._

_Or what used to be the Nemesis._

_"What the...?" Jill gasped._

_Apparently, the Nemesis has somehow survived its dip into the acidic pool, and had mutated into a new quadrapedal form. Even worse, as Jill found out, it also picked up a rather nasty ability to spit out acidic toxins in a lethal shower. Cursing to herself that she had left her grenade launcher back at the cannon, Jill brandished the Samurai Edge..._

_...only to roll out of the way as she dodged the Nemesis' acid spit. When Jill got to a vertical base, she opened fire on the creature. However, as she backed away, she stumbled over the body of a fallen soldier, causing her to fall on her skirt-covered rear. Unfortunately, this also caused Jill to loose her grip on her gun, which clattered to the floor. Jill tried to reach for it, but an acid shot from the Nemesis forced her hand back, the deadly liquid slowly dissolving the weapon._

_"Fuck!" Jill swore. "Give me a break here!"_

_The Nemesis was closing in on her as she backed up against the wall. With the Nemesis blocking the way to the cannon, Jill had an idea. The slumped body of the Tyrant was close. If she times this right, then she could get past the Nemesis before it can kill her._

_Steeling her nerves, Jill ran. Using the Tyrant as a stepping stone, she jumped and tucked her body into a tight ball as she flipped over the Nemesis, landing behind it. Turning around, she saw that the Nemesis didn't notice, since it was currently feasting on the Tyrant that Jill had used to flip over the mutated monster. Once half of that Tyrant was gone, it began to lurch over to the one impaled to the wall._

_Jill knew she had to hurry. She pushed in the second and third batteries and rushed back to the cannon's computer. There was only enough power for two shots, so she knew she had to make them count._

_"Oh, God I hope this works," Jill muttered as she punched in several keys and pressed Enter._

_"All batteries connected," the computer's voice reported. "Paracelsus' Sword activated. Quick-charge mode initiated. Preparing to fire."_

_The massive machine whirred to life. Seconds later..._

_"Five...four...three...two...one...," the computer counted down._

_Jill took a step back and covered her ears._

_"Fire."_

**_KABOOM!_**

_The room shook violently as the rail cannon discharged its first round, blowing a four-foot-wide gash through a massive chunk of scrap metal. But it was the second shot that did the Nemesis in. The mutated bioweapon screamed as it collapsed into a bloody, smoking heap._

_"System overheat," the computer reported. "Cool down mode initiated."_

_The three batteries then ejected from the slots, its power spent. But more importantly, the door had unlocked._

_Jill picked herself up from the ground, satisfied at her handiwork. Her knee was scraped up and she was sore all over, but she had worse. As she limped over to the smoking form of the Nemesis, she kicked at its smoking form before heading over to the door. Her hand had just grasped the handle when she head something. Spinning around, she saw that the Nemesis, clearly dying, was trying to take Jill with her._

_Jill rolled out of the way as the Nemesis tried to nail her with its deadly spit. Much to Jill's luck, she had came to a stop near a dead soldier...with a loaded Smith and Wesson Magnum next to its body. In an instant, the weapon was in Jill's hands and she began to unload its deadly cargo into the monster._

**_BLAM! BLAM!_**

_The shots were loud inside the deserted facility. Jill stood up, advancing as she unloaded three more slugs into the Nemesis._

**_BLAM! BLAM! BLAM!_**

_Jill then aimed her gun at its 'head.' "So you want S.T.A.R.S., huh?" she snapped. "I'll give you S.T.A.R.S., you son-of-a-bitch!"_

**_BLAM!_**

_The Nemesis' 'head' exploded in a shower of gore and acidic fluids._

_"That was for Brad," Jill said. "Fuck you and die."_

_She then dropped the Magnum and made her exit._

[End Flashback]

* * *

"I barely made it out just as the missile arrived," Jill concluded. "The nuke was overkill, but it did the job. Raccoon City is nothing more than a giant smoking crater."

"I've heard," Chris replied.

"So...what else has happened while you were trying to chase down Claire?" Jill asked.

Chris thought about it for a moment. "Well...that day when we thwarted the bank robbery, I met Birkin. He mentioned something about a woman named Alexia. As it turned out, from what pieces of info I've found, Alexia's the daughter of one of the founders of Umbrella. She developed a new virus by combining the T-virus with an ancient virus found inside the remains of an queen ant. She called it T-Veronica, after a famous ancestor of hers. Wesker was there looking for samples of the virus. Hell, part of the lab was made to look like the Spencer Mansion back in Raccoon..."

* * *

[Flashback]

_Umbrella Antarctic Facility – December 28, 1998_

_Chris hid behind a pillar as Wesker confronted Alexia. He had found his sister, only to end up separated once again. Before he could find a way to pursue his sister, Wesker had appeared. Deciding that hiding was the best course of action, Chris his behind the pillar as he watched his former boss face down the British aristocrat/scientist, who stood on the stairway landing._

_"We meet at last, Alexia," Wesker drawled. "You are responsible for the creation of the T-Veronica virus, and the only sample is inside your body. We can do this the easy way and you give it to me willingly...or we can do this the hard way...and I take it from your body."_

_Alexia's response to Wesker's demands was something that not even Chris was expecting._

_She laughed. Right in Wesker's face._

_"I won't ask you again, woman," Wesker snapped. "I want the damned virus...now!"_

_"You fool...you are not worthy of its power!" Alexia replied as she slowly descended down the stairs._

_Given what Chris had seen of Wesker, he thought that Alexia had a deathwish._

_Then, something happened._

_Alexia's body began to smoke, literally, right before her body burst into orange flames. Her dress was consumed by the flames, revealing her naked body, but not for long. Her skin took on a gray hue, and parts of her body began to look like the chitinous exoskeleton of an ant. Her hair also took on the same gray complexion and hardened into oversized bangs as right hand was covered by a gauntlet made of the same material, as were parts of her body in some form of modesty._

_'What the fuck?' both Chris and Wesker thought at the same time._

_By this time, the now-mutated Alexia Ashford had reached Wesker. Before Wesker could react, Alexia had casually backhanded him with her gauntlet-covered hand. The impact sent the superman flying, his glasses flying from his face once again._

_Chris was surprised by the strength that Alexia had. Deep down, it was fitting to see Wesker get smacked around like a redheaded stepchild._

_Wesker managed to flip out of the blow, landing on his feet, but even Wesker was stunned by the blow, as his legs buckled, forcing him down on one knee._

_"What...what power...!" Wesker said as he got back to a vertical base..._

_...just as Alexia was upon him once again – crushing his shades underneath her heel – and uppercut-ed him, sending him to the far end of the lobby._

_"Foolish little man," Alexia intoned in an inhuman voice. "Did you really think that you stood a chance against me? Prepare to die."_

_With her gauntlet-encased hand, Alexia casually flings red, bloodlike ichor on the ground. Seconds later, it had burst into a wall of fire, forcing Wesker back._

_With Wesker distracted, Alexia turned her head, looking at Chris and gave him a cold smile as if to say, 'You're next!'_

_She then turned her attention back to Wesker, who had jumped over the flames. Alexia was relentless, flinging her flaming ichor after him, forcing Wesker to run away from her..._

_...and up the wall, rounding a corner, just as Alexia's ichor found its mark, burning Wesker's clothes._

_Wesker was not deterred. He jumped off the wall, fist cocked back as he sailed towards Alexia._

**_CRACK!_**

_Wesker's fist impacted against Alexia's jaw, which made the mutated woman stagger from the blow. Alexia responds by flinging more ichor in Wesker's direction, forcing him to retreat._

_Unfortunately, this also forced Chris from his hiding place, since some of the ichor had landed near him as well. Chris found himself standing at Wesker's side._

_Wesker looked at Alexia and decided that he wanted nothing more to do with her, not with a woman whose power rivaled that of his own._

_"You deal with her, Redfield," Wesker said. "I'll let you handle this, since you were one of my best men."_

_"Gee, thanks," Chris replied with sarcasm in his voice._

_Wesker smirked, then made his retreat through the door. Milliseconds later, a geyser of flame had erupted. Chris, in the meantime, had bolted for the stairs, but that way was blocked by Alexia's flaming ichor._

_"Going somewhere?" Alexia asked from behind him. "You can't escape."_

_In an instant, Chris had the .357 Magnum in his hands. "Watch me, you freak bitch."_

_Chris fired one shot. Alexia fell to the floor in a heap. "Not so tough now, huh?" Chris taunted._

_At that moment, Alexia's eyes snapped open._

_"Aw, crap," Chris muttered as Alexia hopped back to her feet, the smoking hole in her chest slowly closing. "My luck sucks big time."_

_Before he could get a second shot off, Alexia grabbed a handful of Chris's tactical vest and bodily tossed him to the other side of the room. Chris bounced off of the wall and fell to the ground._

_'Christ,' Chris thought. 'I'm getting my ass handed to me by a girl. It's like freakin' high school all over again.'_

_Alexia then closed the distance between them by leaping over to the stunned Redfield. When she grabbed his vest again, Chris cold-cocked her with his Magnum. Alexia's head violently rocked to the side from the impact._

_"Now that..." Alexia replied as she slowly turned her head back towards Chris, her yellow eye looking at him, slightly amused, "...was very rude."_

_Chris found himself being tossed again. This time, he landed near the stairs. He had lost his grip on his Magnum, which slid to the opposite end of the floor. Alexia didn't even give him a chance to recover. She grabbed him by the vest again and hoisted him clean into the air._

_"You failed to stave off my boredom," Alexia said. "Time to die, little man."_

_However, she was most surprised to see Chris slide out of the vest just as the black material erupted into flames. She was even more surprised to see Chris in the air._

**_WHAM!_**

_A pair of size 11 boots impacted against Alexia's face, forcing her back. Luck was with Chris that moment, since she stumbled over a chunk of marble that had fallen earlier. That was the window of opportunity Chris needed. As Alexia stood back up, Chris had the Magnum back in his hands._

**_BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!_**

_Alexia's body shook violently as four high-caliber slugs tore through her body. But it wasn't enough._

_Chris adjusted his aim, this time, aiming at her head._

_He didn't miss._

**_BANG!_**

_Alexia's head snapped back as Chris's final round made a nice little hole in between her eyes. Once again, she fell to the floor, her flames consumed her, but did not burn her body once the flames had extinguished themselves._

_'Okay, Redfield,' Chris thought to himself, 'pull yourself together.'_

_He stumbled to his feet and staggered over to his vest. Thankfully, the material was not only bulletproof, but also fire resistant as well. He slipped it back on, used a speed loader to reload his gun, and after retrieving Alexia's choker from the stairs, unlocked a hidden door and left Alexia's body where it laid._

[End Flashback]

* * *

Chris smiled sardonically. "I thought I killed her the first time. But that only stopped her for the moment. I managed to rescue Claire and put that crazy bitch down once and for all, but there was still Wesker. He had bushwhacked Claire when she was trying to escape. So I had to face him. Wesker thought he had me scouted, but I still had a couple of tricks up my sleeves..."

* * *

[Flashback]

_Chris finally caught up with Wesker inside the facility's underground seaport, where Wesker's submarine was docked. Chris thought that the nightmare was over, until he saw that Wesker had taken his sister hostage, forcing her down a zombie-laden corridor._

_Chris gave chase, mowing down the zombies in a hail of gunfire before tackling another to the ground before catching up with the traitorus S.T.A.R.S. commander and his hostage._

_"Ah, Redfield," Wesker drawled as he held his hostage. "So glad you can make it. You amaze me yet again. You have quite an annoying habit of surviving. Turns out that since Alexia's work wasn't worth anything, the only thing left is revenge."_

_Chris had his gun aimed at Wesker's head. "Let her go, Wesker!" he yelled._

_Sure enough, Wesker relased his hostage...by tossing her at Chris's feet. Claire quickly got up and ran behind her brother._

_"I came for Alexia and her T-Veronica virus," Wesker continued. "I got one...and since you are such a thorn in my side, Redfield, killing you will be a nice bonus."_

_"Alexia's dead, Wesker," Chris replied._

_"Oh, I know," Wesker said. "But this mission wasn't a complete loss. I have Steve to work with."_

_"No!" Claire shouted. She was restrained by Chris when she tried to charge at him. "You leave him alone!"_

_"You're too late, dear heart. My men have retrieved his body," Wesker replied._

_"Claire...get to the Harrier," Chris ordered. "This is my fight. I owe it to my teammates."_

_"But Chris..." Claire tried to object._

_"I got to do this," Chris said, cutting his sister off. "As a former member of S.T.A.R.S., I owe it to the unit. Go."_

_Claire nodded. "Okay. Don't die on me," she said as she took off down the corridor._

[End Flashback]

* * *

"Wesker was strong. Too strong," Chris continued as Jill continued to tend to his wounds. "But as strong as he was, he had the ego to match. So I used it to my advantage."

"How?" Jill asked.

"Well..." Chris began.

* * *

[Flashback]

_Chris was seeing stars as Wesker stood over him. "Sure I'm not human anymore, Redfield," the traitorous S.T.A.R.S. commander taunted, "but it's a small price to pay for the power I have gained!"_

_One uppercut from Wesker sent Chris flying. The ex-commando landed on his back. After five minutes of being used as a human punching bag, Chris got lucky._

_Looking up, he saw that he was over a bundle of steel I-beams, which were held together by a small pulley. Nearby, was the lever._

_All Chris had to do was to bait Wesker._

_"Magnificent, isn't it Chris?" Wesker said. "Now DIE!"_

_Wesker leapt into the air before coming down, ready to deliver the final blow. However, at the last minute, Chris dove out of the way and pulled the lever, just as Wesker punched the ground where he was at moments earlier._

_Wesker heard the beams fall and looked up, just in time to intercept the first girder on his face before he was buried underneath the massive pile of girders. Chris, however, was still on razor's edge as he leaned up against the wall, catching his breath. He suspected that dropping several tons of I-beams onto Wesker wasn't enough to stop him._

_His intuition proved right when the beams began to move and finally, Wesker threw them off of him before finally making it to a vertical base. Despite his newly-acquired superhuman strength and agililty, the steel I-beams, which would have killed a normal man, the immense damage was done._

_Adrenaline pumping through his veins, and righteously rip-shit pissed at Wesker for causing the near-destruction of S.T.A.R.S. nearly half a year earlier, Chris charged, an enraged battle cry coming from his mouth as he charged towards his former boss. Wesker looked up just in time to see Chris's boot impact against his face, causing him to stagger back, showing that the damage delivered by the I-beams had done its work._

_Chris went on the offensive, staying in close quarters, not giving Wesker a chance to catch his breath or regain his strength. Even Wesker himself was surprised at Chris's resolve. He never pegged Chris as a hand-to-hand fighter, given his stint in the Air Force, despite having read his dossier. But appearances were very deceiving as Chris delivered precision punches and kicks at Wesker._

_When Wesker went for his Samurai Edge, Chris grabbed his hand and twisted it inward, while Wesker was still holding the gun. A sickening CRACK was heard as Wesker's index finger - the trigger finger - was broken while inside the trigger guard. Wesker screamed in pain as Chris relieved him of his gun and tossed it to the side._

_Wesker used his other hand to try and punch Chris, but Chris caught his wrist with one hand and slammed his other elbow into Wesker's throat, once again forcing the superman back, before a roundhouse from Chris sent the superman to the ground facedown._

_Chris wasn't finished. Grabbing a handful of Wesker's hair, he yanked his head up, balled his other fist and brought it down in an overhead punch, which was followed by a hard elbow into Wesker's back._

_"That's for my sister," Chris snarled as he brought Wesker to one of the I-beams and began to bash in his face into the metal. "This is for my teammates!" he snapped as he bashed Wesker's face in repeatedly. The coup-de-grace came when Chris picked up a second metal pipe and brought it down on the back of Wesker's skull. Once, twice, three times, until Wesker stopped moving._

_"The self destruct system has been activated," the recorded voice said over the speakers. "All personnel evacuate immediately."_

_Chris dropped the pipe, now bent and took several steps back. As he approached the corridor, Chris heard Wesker groan. Spinning around, he saw that Wesker was getting to his feet._

_Chris decided then and there to end it once and for all. He crouched down to his boot and pulled out his combat knife, intending on ramming it into Wesker's throat. Chris had ran the past incident with Wesker in his mind, and had guessed that he had less than a second to react should Wesker try and rush him again._

_Wesker got back to a vertical base before cracking his neck muscles. He definitely looked a lot worse for the wear following Chris beating the shit out of him._

_"Nice...try, Chris," Wesker sniped._

_Chris's grip on his knife tightened. One stab into the neck, followed by severing the jugular would be overkill, but better safe than sorry when dealing with Wesker._

_But their battle would be for another day, as an explosion tore through the seaport, separating the two combatants with a massive fallen piece of pipe and a wall of flames._

_Wesker bore the brunt of the explosion, as the left side of his face was covered in burns. Holding his injured face, he glared at his most hated enemy. "Looks like today is your lucky day, Chris," he said as he retrieved his gun. "You won't be so lucky next time!"_

_"I'll be waiting...Captain," Chris replied, pronouncing Wesker's former title with sarcasm in his voice._

_He turned around and made his retreat as Wesker's laughter rang throughout the seaport and corridor._

[End Flashback]

* * *

"Claire and I escaped, and the facility was destroyed," Chris concluded. Jill, in the meantime, had finished tending to Chris's wounds and was listening to Chris tell his story. "Wesker also escaped. As I've told Claire, things are going to be very complicated. Not only we got to deal with Umbrella, but Wesker's out there somewhere."

"So you managed to nail the bastard a couple of good times, huh? So what do we do now?" Jill asked. "Wesker and Umbrella are still out there, and they hold all the cards."

"We wait until tomorrow, and see what my old CO has to offer," Chris replied.

"Is he on the level?" Jill asked, scooting closer to her husband.

Chris nodded. "I've known him for a long time. He took me under his wing back in the Air Force. I trust him."

Jill rested her chin on Chris's shoulder. After a moment, she said, "You know, I always wanted to come to Sydney. Too bad it's not under more pleasant conditions." Her blue eyes looked into Chris's chestnut orbs. "Promise me that you won't leave me alone. I almost died in Raccoon City, and you almost died rescuing Claire. Promise me, Chris."

Without hesitating, Chris replied, "From here on out, we fight together as partners." After a pause, he added, "Once all of this is taken care of, I'll bring you here for a real vacation."

"I'll hold you to that, Redfield, but I'll settle for a actual wedding ceremony," Jill said as she continued to mend her husband's wounds.

By the time Jill was halfway finished, Chris' left bicep and forearm were bandaged. "Jill, next time my sister gets into trouble, do a better job of convincing me not to go after her," Chris groused.

"I'll try," his wife replied. "Since we're coming clean, I got to tell you that you're not alone. I really wasn't expecting to fall for you as well."

"Is that so?"

The former thief rested her chin on Chris's shoulder again as she chose her words carefully. "Dad was right about me, you know. After I nearly got raped, I just...shut myself off from people. I never allowed anyone to get close to me, with the exception of Dad. I always kept things professional. Then you showed up. At first...I thought you were just an arrogant flyboy with something to prove. But as time passed and I got to know you better, you showed a high degree of responsibility in raising Claire on your own. You even risked your life to save mine, from the robbery to inside that damned mansion. Hell, if it wasn't for the extra training you put me through, I probably would not have made it out of Raccoon."

"I'm glad you think so highly of me," Chris said.

Jill smiled. "Comes with the territory. I am your wife after all."

"In that case, let me tell you a little secret," Chris said.

Jill leaned in closer. "Yeah. What is it?"

Chris reached over and gently pulled a stray strand of brown hair away from her face and tucked it behind her ear. "Despite everything that's happened...I'm glad that you rear-ended me back in Raccoon. I'm glad that I met you."

Jill's smile widened.

"That sounded corny, didn't it?" Chris said

Jill giggled. "You're not hearing any complaints from me, Redfield." After a moment, as she resumed bandaging Chris, she said, "What's your former C.O. like?"

"About my height," Chris replied. "Slightly older than Barry. Career military man. He's a maverick, like me. You trust him...he has that strength, that charisma. You'd die in a second for him. A natural leader. Been married for close to fifteen years, has one child - a daughter. Her name is Ashley."

"Your former boss sounds like an interesting man," Jill said.

"He's not Wesker, that's for damn sure."

* * *

Chris woke up the next morning. Jill wasn't with him. Even more so, the house was silent. Silent as death. Claire should have been awake at this time.

Feeling a sense of dread in his gut, Chris stepped out of the bed. He reached for his Glock, and making sure that it was loaded, Chris exited the room, gun gripped in his hands.

Upon reaching the living room, his worst fears were confirmed.

It was a bloodbath. Blood and entrails were everywhere. The walls were splattered red with blood and bullet holes.

Chris almost gagged as he saw the bodies of Leon, Carlos, and MacPherson, torn open, as if they were...eaten alive, their faces in an eternal mask of pain.

"Claire? CLAIRE?" Chris shouted as he searched the area. As he approached an overturned table...

"Oh, no..."

...he found his sister, just as dead as Leon, Carlos and MacPherson. Her torso was ripped open, one breast was gone. The culprit was hunched over his sister's mutilated body, feasting on the remains.

The zombie looked up. A female, with short brown hair, eyes once a vibrant blue, now a dead milky white, the skin deathly pale, the lower part of her face and shirt stained with blood and chunks of meat and gore.

"Jill..."

The undead wife of Chris Redfield stood up, a moan escaping her lips, just as Chris opened fire. As it turned out, Jill moved just as fast as the zombified Forest Speyer back at the mansion, ignoring the bullets that tore through her chest and torso as she tackled Chris to the ground.

Chris screamed out in pain as Jill tore into him, her teeth tearing into his flesh. The last thing he saw was his blood shooting out in geyser-like streams as Jill tore out his throat. Soon, Leon, Carlos, MacPherson and Claire had revived and joined the zombified Jill in her morning meal.

* * *

Chris's eyes snapped open as he sat upright in the bed.

Then he grunted as the pain from the previous night returned. He could hear voices outside in the dining room, and breathed out a sigh of relief as he fell back to the bed.

'Damn,' Chris thought. 'What a horrible nightmare.'

The thought of Jill being infected with the T-virus still freaked him out. But she was alive. She survived Raccoon City, as did his sister and Leon.

Going back to sleep was not an option. Not after that dream he had. Groaning to himself, he got out of the bed. Minutes later, after a quick shower and a change of clothes - a white T-shirt with the initials USAF emblazoned on the front and a pair of fatigues, Chris exited the bedroom.

Sure enough, Jill was in the kitchen, sipping on a cup of coffee, while MacPherson was entertaining Claire with one of his many war/romance stories. Leon and Carlos were arguing over which gun was better - the VP70 or the SIGPRO.

Chris trudged to the empty chair and plopped down, wincing slightly from the pain.

MacPherson looked at the banged-up male Redfield. "When I was a boy, I went on a fox hunt with my dad," the ex-British commando said. "Caught ourselves one of the sorriest-looking foxes I have ever seen. You are the second sorriest, Redfield."

"Good morning to you too," Chris groused as he yawned.

Dressed in one of Chris's dress shirts and a pair of jeans, Jill walked over to her husband, a second cup of coffee in her hands. "Here. This should help," she said.

"Thanks," Chris mumbled as he took a sip of the hot beverage.

Claire made a face. "Ugh. I can't see how you and Jill can drink that crap straight up."

"I like my coffee strong and greasy," Chris replied. "I focus better that way." He took a sip. "Least this isn't decaf."

"Decaf isn't real coffee," Jill said as she sipped her mug. "It's just dirty water."

"Ah, a woman with class," MacPherson interjected. "You got good taste, Redfield. I wonder how she likes her tea."

"Depends on the tea," Jill replied. "I'm half-Irish, after all."

The knock on the door brought everyone on edge, the friendly banter coming to a halt. Within seconds, everyone was armed; Jill armed with Leon's VP70; Claire with the M93R she had brought back from Rockfort Island; Leon with the Desert Eagle; Carlos with his SIGPRO handgun, MacPherson with a Browning handgun and Chris with the Glock.

Chris stood up, gun raised, and stealthily crept towards the door. "Who is it?" he barked out.

"It's Graham," the voice replied. "Open the door, Lieutenant."

Chris looked into the peephole. After a moment, he turned to everyone and nodded. As Chris unlocked the door, everyone else safetied their weapons and secured them, just as Chris opened the door. Standing on the other side, was a man in his early forties, his posture radiating authority. The man was dressed in camouflage fatigues, which were visible underneath his trenchcoat.

Roland Graham eyed his former subordinate. "Lieutenant Redfield."

Chris returned the glare, taking note of his former boss' new rank. "Colonel Graham."

After a tense moment, the two men broke into a grin and shook hands. "It's been a long time, Lieutenant," Graham said. "You look like hell."

"It has been a long time, sir. Trust me, it was a lot worse working under you. Come in, sir," Chris said as he stepped aside.

Graham nodded and entered, removing his beret and trenchcoat. Placing them on a chair, Chris conducted the introductions. "Everyone, this is my former C.O. from the Air Force, Colonel Roland Graham. You already know my sister and Evil Ed. Introductions all around, people."

"Leon S. Kennedy, formerly of the R.P.D.," Leon began.

"Carlos Oliveira, mercenary," Carlos said.

"Jill Valentine, also formerly of the R.P.D.," Jill finished.

"What a crew," Graham said as he took a seat. "You sure know how to piss off key people, Redfield. But then again, that was one of your more...memorable traits. Given the stunts you and your friends pulled, the lot of you are high on Umbrella's shit list."

"How do you know about that?" Jill asked.

"The whole world is my office, Miss Valentine," Graham replied. "As Chris had told you, I was his commanding officer back when he was a member of the Combat Control Unit. Now, I'm in command of the Air Force's Office of Special Investigations. It also helps that I have informants within the G.P.C."

"G.P.C.?" Leon repeated.

"Global Pharmaceutical Consortium," Graham explained. "Basically, it's just a group of medical and pharmaceutical companies who dictate protocol. Most of them are straight as an arrow. But Umbrella's got plenty of skeletons in their closet. The incident in Raccoon City is just one of many."

"So what's your connection with Raccoon City?" Jill asked.

"I had family there," Graham replied. "My sister-in-law was dating one of the Umbrella scientists stationed at the Arklay Mansion. Fortunately, I managed to talk some sense into Alma before the entire city went to hell."

"Alma..." Jill repeated. "Was her boyfriend's name Martin Crackhorn?"

Graham nodded.

"One moment," Jill said excusing herself from the others. Minutes later, she returned with an envelope. "When Chris and I were stranded at the Spencer Mansion, I found this alongside a corpse. This was the only thing I carried with me out of the mansion. This is Crackhorn's suicide letter."

Graham accepted it with a nod. "I'll make sure she gets it. Thank you, Jill."

"So what brings you here, Colonel?" Chris asked. "MacPherson said that you were dropping by."

"The federal government has been investigating Umbrella for close to twenty-five years, but Umbrella kept blocking the investigation by either intimidating or bribing investigators," Graham explained. "With the incident in Raccoon City and the subsequent destruction of the city, Umbrella has lost its political maneuvering within the Senate."

"Never knew you were into politics, Colonel," Claire said.

"Oh, it's a hobby of mine, kiddo," Graham replied. "Now, as you know, President Williams had ordered the tactical strike on Raccoon in order to contain the outbreak, and had resigned as a result of the fallout last month. His successor took office and he issued his first executive order: the immediate federal investigation of the Umbrella Corporation. Believe me when I say that this guy doesn't screw around. That mansion that you and your wife managed to escape from, was just the tip of the iceberg."

Chris and Jill both had surprised expressions on their faces. "How...how did...?" Chris sputtered.

Graham's expression was smug. "I told you once when you served under me. 'The world is my office, Redfield.' I like to keep notes and a close eye on my current and past subordinates. Congratulations, by the way."

"Er...thanks, Colonel," Jill mumbled. "So you also know that I'm ex-Army, right?"

Graham nodded. "Of course. You record is very impressive, Specialist Valentine. Now, as to why I'm here...Umbrella has a hefty price tag on your heads, and with my influence within certain circles, I can help you in your little war against Umbrella. That VTOL Chris came in will fetch a nice little deposit, and those things are expensive. Within the Department of Defense, with the other military investigation units and the other law enforcement entities, we have recently established an anti-Umbrella movement, called the Anti-Umbrella Pursuit and Investigation Team. And I want you and your wife to join under me."

"The offer is interesting, Colonel, but why now?" Jill asked.

"Well, since Umbrella either bribes or kills off anyone that gets in their way," Graham continued, "my superiors had to act. We found Miss Chambers and gave her the same offer I'm giving the both of you. She accepted. You two have a chance to make a difference by helping us bring down Umbrella once and for all."

"He does have a point Jill," Chris admitted turning to his wife. "And Graham is as honest as they come. He is a hardcore patriot and would die for his country rather than take money on the side. I trust him with my life. And we can only go so far in our fight against Umbrella. We're gonna need some serious help."

Jill thought about it for a moment. "This had better be worth it, Redfield." She turned to Graham. "Okay. We're both in."

"Me too," Leon added.

"Same here," Claire added.

"I can head back to Brazil and get in touch with a couple of my mercenary buddies," Carlos said. "They hate Umbrella as much as I do. We can use the extra firepower."

Graham nodded. "Good. Oh, and one more thing, Chris," he said as he reached into his pocket and tossed him a small box.

Chris caught it and opened it. Captain's bars rested on a small velvet bed.

"Your commission is being reactivated, effective immediately, and your record has been wiped clean," Graham said. "Think of it as a long overdue promotion. I'm going to need all the help I can get. Better get used to working under me once again, Captain Redfield. Your commission is active until as such Umbrella is destroyed. Umbrella's real edgy when it comes to targeting military personnel and their families. So think of this as for you, a shield of sorts."

He turned to Jill. "As for you, Miss Valentine, there's a set of Second Lieutenant's bars waiting for you. Air Force, or course. Hope you don't mind."

"I got no problem with that," Jill replied.

Graham smiled. "Good. Now you get to see how we Air Force boys live. But first, you got to complete officer candidate school. Once you completed OCS, Chris will be your partner...and superior officer."

"When do we start?"

"I will clear it with my superiors," Graham replied. "You do realize that in order to attend OCS, you must have a college degree, right?"

Jill nodded. "I have a degree in Criminal Justice from Raccoon University."

Graham nodded. "Good. That's a start. Now, Officer Candidate School is held at Maxwell Air Force Base in Alabama. It's a thirteen and a half week course for anyone pursuing a commission. Once you've completed OCS, Chris will pick you up from Maxwell and take you to Andrews, where the both of you will be residing. Normally, there is a 18-week training seminar for federal employees, but in this case, I'm making the exception."

Graham stood up. "Captain Redfield, I will expect to see you at Andrews by zero-nine-hundred, no later than the fourth. Understand?"

Chris nodded. "Crystal, Colonel."

It was at that moment, Claire spoke up. "Colonel, wait. There was a girl that had escaped Raccoon City along with Leon and myself. When I went after my brother, both her and Leon were taken into government custody. Can you find her for us, please?"

"What's her name?" Graham asked.

"Sherry Birkin," Leon replied.

"I know a couple of guys who owe me a couple of favors within the government," Graham replied. "When I find her, I'll bring her to you."

The name then clicked in Chris's head. "Wait a second...Birkin? As in William Birkin's daughter? The same guy who created the G-virus?"

Claire nodded. "So you know about that?"

"I met the man," Chris replied. "Even offered me a job working for Umbrella. This was the day of the bank robbery."

"We also ran into him," Leon said. "Only problem was that he was anything but."

"His wife gave me the story," Claire explained. "I ran into her down in the sewers. Birkin created the G-virus and was planning on handing it over to the federal government rather than use it for a seat on Umbrella's executive board. So Umbrella sent in a squad of its special forces unit to steal the samples. Birkin was accidentally shot in the process and he used a hidden vial of the stuff to keep himself alive. He hunted the special forces team down and slaughtered them. However, the rats inside the sewers got to the vials containing the T-virus."

"Which led to the citywide outbreak," Jill concluded.

"Figures that the T-virus would be spread by rats," Chris said. "They're pretty much immune to most diseases. I'm also willing to bet that the government guy that Leon had ran into was someone on Umbrella's payroll."

"A probable possibility," Graham mused. "I'll look into it."

Snafu's Notes: So ends Part One.

Next Chapter: Jill is now an commissioned officer of the Air Force.


	14. 12: Lieutenant Valentine

**Part Two: The War Against Umbrella**

**Chapter Twelve: Lieutenant Valentine, If You Please**

Snafu's Notes: Here's Part Two of A Change In Pace. Now, I've been asked whether or not that I was going to include the Revelations storyline. After thinking about it, I decided not to, but I've also decided to add the Umbrella Secret Service that will be seen in Operation Raccoon City (the guys that are trying to kill Leon, Jill and Claire). They will act as the primary antagonists in the War Against Umbrella Arc.

From the journal of Chris Redfield...

_**January 7, 1999**_

_**Jill and I spent New Years' in Sydney. Wish it was under better circumstances, though. But I can't complain. Once the holidays were over, Jill, myself and the others returned stateside. On the flight over, I gave Jill a crash in Air Force procedure and protocol...well, the basic stuff anyway, as well as what to expect in training. Once our flight landed in Maryland, it was off to OCS for Jill.**_

_**I spent the next couple of days being debriefed by Graham and the higher ups at US STRACOM. Leon didn't sign up for the military. Instead, he was recruited into the Secret Service. Claire decided to hang around me, but declined to work as a civilian for the Anti-Umbrella Investigation Team. At my request, she is taking correspondence courses for her college classes.**_

_**Carlos returned to his native Brazil to rally his mercenary friends to help in the war against Umbrella. So far, the news have been good on his end. He had friends in Brazil, Argentina, Guyana and even in Venezuela. MacPherson remained in Sydney, collecting intel. I tracked down Barry down in Toronto along with Graham and invited him to join us as a civilian employee.**_

**_Right now, there's not a whole lot to do but to wait for Jill to complete her training. I also forgot how much of a slave driver Graham is. The old man still kicks my ass on the floor six falls out of ten. And here, I thought Jill was bad._**

* * *

From the diary of Jill Valentine...

_**April 10, 1999**_

_**Tomorrow is graduation.**_

_**I'm graduating at the top of my class. It strange, though. When I was eighteen and living as a thief, I never dreamed that I would become a cop. Now, thanks to Graham, I'm a commissioned officer in the Air Force. If my former C.O. back in the Army found out about this, he'd flip out. Back in the R.P.D., I was Chris's superior. Now the tables had turned. He's my boss now.**_

_**According to Chris, Graham set us up in a nice house on Andrews Air Force Base. Aside the fact that the base houses Air Force One, it is also heavily guarded. Umbrella will have a hard time trying to get to us here.**_

_**It's been too long since I've been away from my husband. I can't believe that by this time tomorrow I'm going to be an Air Force officer. I told Dad about it, and he was thrilled. Unfortunately, he will still be in prison when I graduate. His parole hearing won't be until four months from now.**_

* * *

Maxwell Air Force Base, Alabama – April 11, 1999

Second Lieutenant Jillianne Valentine.

Even now, Jill still couldn't believe it. Aside the fact that she now had taken on her husband's last name.

The ceremony was over, the base commander having dismissed the newly commissioned officers of the United States Air Force. Clad in the female officer's formal uniform with skirt, complete with garrison cap showing off her newly acquired rank of Second Lieutenant, Jill returned to her barracks, where her duffel bag was already packed, Jill herself ready to go.

Out of a class of over two hundred candidates, less than a hundred had graduated, Jill being at the top of her class. The Raccoon survivor was thankful that her those PT sessions that she had underwent back in S.T.A.R.S. and Chris's knowledge of the Air Force had been instrumental in her making it through candidate school.

As Jill approached her barracks, she noticed someone waiting for her. Someone she hasn't seen since returning to the States. On the street, was a parked car, one that base personnel used.

Six feet tall, dressed in the Air Force's battle dress uniform (i.e., combat fatigues), with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows. Spit-shined combat boots, as well as a pair of fingerless gloves on his hands. A red beret, complete with the rank of Captain visible, the beret identifying him as a member of the Combat Control Unit...or rather, a former member of said unit. His rank was also stitched onto his clothing. Jill noticed that he had put on several pounds of muscle the last time she had seen him, but Barry still had him beat.

The nametag over the upper right breast pocket read **REDFIELD**.

Jill walked over to the man and stopped, snapping at attention. She then followed through with a hand salute, showing respect to her superior officer. "Captain Redfield, sir."

Chris Redfield returned the salute. "Lieutenant Valentine," he responded evenly.

"It's Lieutenant Redfield, sir. I have taken on my husband's last name. Of course, no one else knows about that yet," she replied with humor in her eyes.

They both dropped the salutes. Chris looked his wife over, taking notice of her officer's rank. "Looks good on you," he noted.

"The rank or the uniform?" Jill asked.

"Both. You always did like blue."

Jill smiled broadly. Then she walked over and greeted her husband proper. After all, thirteen weeks was a long time. A hug, followed by a long and hard kiss, not really caring who was watching. Of course there were some people watching, but once seeing that they both were officers, they backed off.

"I missed you so much," Jill whispered. "I thought I was going to go crazy."

"You survived Raccoon City with no problem," Chris pointed out. "Officers' Training should be a cakewalk. No zombies."

"Jerk," Jill pouted. She saw that her duffel bag was at Chris' feet. She had packed it shortly before the graduation ceremony and Chris must have retrieved it once the ceremony was complete.

Her husband chuckled. "You knew that when you married me." He picked up the duffel bag and slung it over her shoulder. "Come on. I've hitched a ride with a Super Hercules out of Andrews," Chris explained as he tossed Jill's bag into the trunk. "We're gonna fly back with them after they pick up some supplies here."

Jill nodded as she got into the car, riding shotgun while Chris was in the driver's seat. Soon, the car peeled off.

* * *

En route to Andrews Air Force Base...

Chris entered the cockpit, where the two pilots were flying the massive plane with incredible ease. "What's our E.T.A., Major?"

The pilot, a Major, replied, "Our E.T.A. to Andrews is exactly 15 minutes, Captain."

"Thank you, Major. I really appreciate you in letting me ride with you guys."

"No problem," the pilot replied. "So who's the cute lieutenant you picked up back at Maxwell?"

"My wife, sir," Chris replied. "She's just completed her OCS training."

"No shit," the pilot said. "You're a lucky man, Captain, to nab yourself a fine woman like that. Congratulations."

Chris nodded his thanks and exited the cockpit. Inside the massive cargo area, three M998 Humvees were parked in a line and strapped down. Jill was inspecting one of them. Shortly after the plane had taken off, Jill had stepped inside one of the Humvees and changed clothes. Instead of her officer's uniform, Jill had changed into her own combat fatigues, complete with black beret which showed off her new rank. The officer's uniform was nearly folded and put away inside her bag.

Unlike Chris, her name tag read **VALENTINE**.

"We'll be at Andrews in 15 minutes," Chris replied. He noticed the change in his wife's attire. "Let me guess...you got tired of wearing the uniform?"

Jill shrugged her shoulders. "I'm more comfortable in fatigues." She toyed with the beret. It was black, like Chris', complete with the gold single bar pinned to it. "So what's been happening since I was away?"

Chris thought about it for a moment. "Well, Barry moved his family to Andrews from Toronto, since Umbrella will have a hard time trying to sneak onto a military base...especially one where they keep Air Force One under heavy guard. He's also with the Anti-Umbrella movement, but as a civilian. Claire's back with me, since Leon is still training. I managed to talk her into taking correspondence courses for college. Leon has been enlisted into the Secret Service. Both he and Claire's been dating for a couple of months now. As for me, I've been busy briefing Colonel Graham on what I know about Umbrella so far and training. Speaking of which, following Raccoon City, Umbrella's been under investigation by the G.P.C."

Chris then rifled through his pockets. "Before I forget...here." He produced a velvet box and handed it to Jill.

Jill wordlessly accepted the item and opened it. Her eyes widened and she gasped as to what was inside.

"Thought you might like a real wedding ring," Chris explained as Jill picked up the ring from the box. The ring was gold, with six small diamonds implanted inside.

"Chris...this is..." Jill began as she looked it over.

"Well...? Are you going to put it on or not?"

"Sorry," Jill apologized as she slipped the ring onto her ring finger. "How can you afford this? This must have cost you an arm and a leg."

"Money's not a problem," Chris replied, enjoying the look on his wife's face. Off Jill's confused look, Chris explained it to her. "Remember that VTOL Claire and I came in on back in Sydney?"

Jill nodded. "That was a Harrier, right?"

Chris nodded. "Aside from the helicopter, I was trained to pilot those before I was kicked out the first time. I wasn't a fighter pilot, but better safe than sorry," he explained. "The Royal Air Force also uses that specific type of Harrier, so I talked to Evil Ed and he found a buyer. He sold it for about $40 million, since it was brand-new. Ed got his cut, as did I. The rest went into the Anti-Umbrella organization's war chest."

"Exactly how much?" Jill asked.

"Oh, about $9 million," Chris replied casually. "Most of it is in a Swiss bank account with both our names on it. There's about a couple hundred thousand in a bank here."

Jill's jaw dropped. "Nine million? Are you serious?" she nearly shouted.

Chris nodded, unfazed by his wife's outburst. "Yup. As of this moment, we're the richest officers in the Air Force. Of course, no one doesn't know, with the exception of Claire and Graham. I bought her a new motorcycle to replace the one she left behind in Raccoon, not to mention setting her up with a trust fund that she can't touch until she's 21." He looked at Jill, who was doing a nice imitation of a fish out of water. "Um...Jill...are you okay?"

"Nine million dollars," Jill mumbled.

"It wasn't something that I could have just written to you about," Chris defended. "So I decided to wait until I picked you up and tell you."

Jill finally shook herself out of her stupor. "Nine million dollars," she whispered, remembering that Chris had mentioned that Dick was paroled while she was away. "My father?"

"Don't worry. I took care of everything," Chris replied. "Dick's back in Colorado. I set him up with a nice little place for him to retire on. He got released early for good behavior." He looked at his watch. "Better strap yourself in. We're about to land," he said as he fastened his safety harness.

Minutes later, Jill did the same.

* * *

Andrews Air Force Base, Maryland

The C-130J Super Hercules landed with a slight bump. Minutes later, the massive plane entered a hangar, where it slowed to a stop, the hangar's doors closing behind the plane. The Super Hercules' rear ramp slowly opened, allowing Chris and Jill to finally disembark from their flight.

"I hope you got a car or something," Jill muttered as she shouldered her duffel bag.

"You big baby," Chris teased as he took Jill's bag and shouldered it. "Come on. It's outside."

Outside, parked in a parking space, was Chris's ride. Since his pickup was atomized when Raccoon City disappeared in a mushroom cloud half a year earlier, Chris had to procure a new vehicle. Parked in the parking space, was a black, government-issue, four-door Chevrolet Tahoe.

Jill let out a low whistle. "Nice ride. Government issue?"

"Yeah," Chris replied. "Picked it up at a car auction. They were selling government vehicles as surplus, so I took advantage."

"Since we're filthy rich, do I get one?" Jill asked.

Chris tossed Jill's bag into the back seat. "It's waiting for you at the house." He opened the passenger door. "After you, Lieutenant."

Jill stepped inside. "Thank you, Captain."

* * *

Being an officer of the U.S. Military had its perks. One of which was on-base housing. The enlisted personnel either stayed in apartments or dorms, while the officers resided in single and two-story houses.

Chris was fortunate enough to land a nice two-story home on base, located in the officers' section. This he acquired while Jill was away at officer candidate school. It was smaller than his old place back in Raccoon City, but Chris wasn't one to complain. The house was nice. Aside from Chris and Jill, Claire also stayed in the place, since Chris had labeled her as a dependent. Whenever she wasn't with her brother, she was reconnecting with Leon.

Jill removed her beret and ran her fingers through her hair. "Finally...I thought that OCS would never end," she said. "And I thought S.T.A.R.S. training was bad."

"It wasn't that bad," Chris dryly noted. "You got off lucky, with me telling you what to expect, Little Miss Super Soldier. Oh, and Colonel Graham sends his congratulations to you as well. We got the week off, but come Monday, we got to hit the ground running."

Chris pulled his truck into a quiet neighborhood. After passing five houses, he pulled into the driveway of the sixth house, the SUV pulling to a stop beside a car, which was concealed under a piece of tarp.

Chris cut the engine just as Jill hopped out of the SUV. Walking over to the vehicle, she grabbed a double handful of the tarp and yanked it off. Whatever was underneath it had made Jill squeal in delight, like a kid at Christmas.

It was a slick, dark blue 1967 Chevrolet Camaro, the front license plate reading VALENTINE.

"This is mine?" she asked as she walked in a complete circle around her new vehicle.

Chris responded by throwing her the Camaro's keys. Jill caught them with one hand. "It's yours. Consider this your graduation present. I bought it at a police auction. Of course, I've taken a couple of liberties with it. Safety glass, the chassis is bulletproof, reinforced suspension, turbo engine, that sort of thing, since you drive like a stuntman. Same with my truck here. Just in case Umbrella sends a couple of gunmen at our doorstep. You always did have a passion for muscle cars."

Jill's response to her husband's graduation gift was another world-class glomp. "Thank you!" she squealed.

"Before you get any ideas, Lieutenant," Chris interjected, "you should check out your new home."

Torn between taking her new toy out for a test drive and resting from nearly fourteen weeks of hell, the latter won out. Sighing in defeat, Jill spared her car one final glance before following Chris inside the house. The house was smaller than the Redfield home back in the now-destroyed Raccoon City, but looked comfortable. Chris made sure of that.

Jill was impressed. "Nice place, Captain," she remarked as she removed her beret and placed it on the coffee table...right next to a small wooden box with her name on it. Jill saw that the return address was from the Kendo Gun Shop in New Raccoon City.

Jill read the label. "New Raccoon City?"

"Oh, yeah," Chris said as he sat down next to his wife. "While you were away, the city council in Exeter voted to change the name to New Raccoon City to honor its sister city. Open it."

Jill opened the box and gasped as to what was inside.

A brand-new Beretta handgun, matte-black. Jill could recognize Joe Kendo's work anywhere.

"The military uses Berettas as their sidearms," Chris explained as Jill picked up her handgun. "But you already knew that. The S.T.A.R.S. were issued civilian models. This is pure military hardware." He gestured to the gun. "That is the Beretta M9 Custom, a much better improvement over the M92FS."

Jill was busy inspecting the gun. With practiced ease, she pulled the slide back, then snapped it back into place.

"I managed to procure two of them and has them shipped to Kendo," Chris continued. "I already got mine. Like mine, I got your gun modified to meet your specifications. It's basically the same as your old Beretta back in Raccoon, but with one major difference. Aside from the standard nine-mil Luger rounds, they can also fire .45 caliber rounds as well in a eleven-round clip. Check out the engraving on the slide."

Jill brought the weapon to the light, so she can read the engraving.

**SAMURAI EDGE MARK II – KENDO GUN SHOP, NEW RACCOON CITY**

"One thing about Kendo," Chris noted. "He sure as hell makes some good firearms. I told him that you lost your Samurai Edge back in Raccoon, and that you needed a replacement. This is the next-generation Samurai Edge. Like the first one, she'll fire straight and true."

Jill noticed the scrap sheet of paper inside the empty box. It was a note, addressed to her, from Kendo. It said:

_Lieutenant Valentine, Consider this a graduation gift. Joe Kendo_

Jill smiled as she placed her Samurai Edge back inside its box.

"Master bedroom's the last door on the right," Chris said as he pointed to the stairs. "Go on and get your stuff squared away. I'll be here when you're finished."

Jill nodded as she picked up her duffel bag and disappeared up the stairs.

Inside the master bedroom, Jill unpacked her clothes and placed them in the empty drawers Chris had left for her. Once she was done unpacking, Jill had changed out of the combat fatigues and into some more casual attire, and sat down on the edge of the bed, and took a moment to reflect on the events that had transpired.

She had gone from being an reformed thief, to being an ex-Army enlistee, to being an ex-S.T.A.R.S. member who had narrowly survived a horrific experience that would have made George Romero proud.

And now, she was an officer in the Air Force, working alongside her husband in the Air Force's Office of Special Investigations, who in turn was part of the anti-Umbrella movement that was picking up steam.

Jill looked at the photo on the nightstand. When Chris had made his final departure from Raccoon City, he had managed to save the majority of the photos onto his laptop, including those of his family. The photo on the nightstand was that of herself and Chris, taken shortly before the 'cannibal murders.'

Jill smiled at the photo. Both of them were in their S.T.A.R.S. uniforms, Jill's beret was on Chris's head as part of a playful gesture on her end.

'Seems like a lifetime ago,' Jill thought. 'What's this?'

Next to the photo, was a folded piece of cloth. Upon unfolding it, Jill saw that it was her old set of lockpicks. She also noticed that the nightstand drawer was locked when she tried to open it.

Her curiosity getting the best of her, Jill picked out two of the small metallic pieces and went to work. In five seconds, the soft **CLICK** was heard, signaling to her that she had unlocked the nightstand drawer.

'I still got it,' Jill beamed inwardly as she opened the drawer.

Inside was a laptop - a blue Sony VAIO, brand new. There was a note attached to it as Jill picked it up from its resting place.

_For you, Jill. I knew you couldn't resist. Chris._

Jill smiled inwardly. Chris knew her all to well. All he had to do was to stoke her curiosity and she would do the rest. Placing the laptop on the bed, she retrieved her dress uniform and opened the closet, only to receive another surprise.

Inside the closet, was her old S.T.A.R.S. uniform. The short-sleeved blue shirt with the shoulder harnesses, the blue combat pants on hangers, and her pair of spit-shined boots rested nearby on the floor. Her beret, sadly, she had left behind and was incinerated when Raccoon went up in smoke.

Jill regarded her old uniform for a moment. The local dry cleaners had burned down back in Raccoon City, forcing the R.P.D. to have their uniforms cleaned at the dry cleaners in Stone Ville. Barry had retrieved their uniforms shortly after the destruction and had kept them for Chris and Jill.

Deciding that she had kept her husband waiting long enough, Jill returned downstairs.

* * *

"When did you decide to take my last name?" Chris asked as he and Jill sat on the sofa.

"Before OCS," Jill replied. "I know I said that I would keep my last name, but having a double-barreled surname didn't sound as bad. This way, I can still use my maiden name, while on paper, I'm known as Jillianne Valentine-Redfield."

"That's a mouthful," Chris replied.

"Where's Claire?"

"Hanging around with Leon," Chris replied as he picked up Jill's keys. "Feel like taking your toy for a test drive? There's a deserted runway that some of the teenagers and most of the enlisted gearheads use to drag race."

Jill smiled at the suggestion.

* * *

At a deserted hangar, Chris was on the phone with Barry.

"I take it Jill's back?" Barry asked.

Chris nodded. "Yup. We're at the old runway. Jill's testing out her Camaro."

"And how does she like her new car?"

Upon hearing the unmistakable sound of a car engine being revved, Chris took the phone from his ear and stretched it outward. At that moment, the Camaro screamed passed, with Jill shouting out "YAAAA-HOOOO!" as she passed.

"Yeah. She most definitely loves her toy," Chris said. "She's been going at it for an hour and a half now."

"When she's finished with her stunt-driving routine, have her come by the house. Kathy and Claire's finished with the preparations for the surprise party."

"I will," Chris replied.

* * *

Barry's cover was that he was a civilian contractor working on the base. In truth, he was also part of the anti-Umbrella faction under Colonel Graham's authority. Rather than base housing, he lived on the same street as Chris – five houses down from his, thanks to Colonel Graham.

So imagine Jill's shock when she entered Barry's home and found that there was a surprise party prepared just for her. The Burton family were present, as were Leon, and Claire.

While Leon, Chris and Barry chatted, Kathy was looking after Moira and Pollyanne, allowing Claire and Jill to sit down and talk.

"Chris said that you took on his last name," Claire said. "So...is it Lieutenant Redfield or Lieutenant Valentine?"

"Lieutenant Valentine will do," her sister-in-law replied. "But like I told Chris, officially I'm Jill Valentine-Redfield, but I still go by my maiden name. Chris said you were back in school."

Claire nodded. "Even with all that has been happening, he is still adamant that I continue my education. I've been attending school under my mom's maiden name, to throw Umbrella off. And after that, I head either for Leon's place or head straight back home."

"You're still mad about me and Chris getting married?"

"A little. But Chris is the happiest I've seen him in a long time, despite everything that's happened."

"Gotta admit that your brother is not a boring person to be around, though. So what's been going on with you and Leon? Chris told me that you two had started dating."

Claire nodded. "About three months. I asked him out," she admitted. "Even after all this time, I still think that this is all a bad dream, with Raccoon City and Rockfort Island."

Jill nodded. "On top of that, Wesker's running loose somewhere." She shuddered mentally as she remembered the near-death experiences she experienced, both in the Spencer Mansion and in the final days of Raccoon City. Almost unconsciously, her hand gently touched her shoulder, the near-lethal memento given to her by the Nemesis.

"You okay?" Claire asked.

Jill nodded as she removed her hand. "Yeah. I'm good. I just know that the war is far from over. It's only the beginning."

"Never was really used to fighting," Claire said. "But the people who are exposed to the virus suffer the most. If it wasn't for my brother's persistence in me learning how to defend myself, I would have been killed in either Raccoon or Rockfort Island."

Jill looked at Chris, who was still talking with Barry and Leon. "So true. Did Chris tell you about what had happened with us inside the Spencer Estate?"

"Bits and pieces. Why?"

"Turns out that I have a personal connection with Umbrella. Wesker told us back inside the Spencer Labs." And Jill told her. She also told her about her near-death experience back in Raccoon City, and of how Carlos saved her life.

"Whoa," Claire said. "So that makes you what, the original super-soldier?"

Jill nodded. "Chris said the same thing. But from what you and Chris told me, Wesker is a lot worse."

Claire frowned, remembering her run-in with the former S.T.A.R.S. Commander back on Rockfort Island. "You have no idea. Chris barely survived against him, and Wesker's a lot tougher than two Hunters."

"So I've heard."

"You think Wesker's gonna try and sneak onto the base to take a stab at the both of you, let alone the rest of us?" Claire asked.

"I asked Chris the same thing," Jill replied. "And so far, we're safe. Andrews is where Air Force One is being kept under heavy guard, and Umbrella's stateside operations are already feeling the heat. What's happened in Raccoon City has been leaked out, thanks to Alyssa and several others who survived."

While Jill was away at Officer Candidate School, Chris had wrote to her, saying that Alyssa and seven others had survived Raccoon City, but most had gone underground. While Chris and Jill were raiding the Caliban Cove facility, Alyssa and a former Umbrella employee – a girl named Yoko Suzuki – leaked out what had happened during the citywide outbreak in Raccoon. This Chris knew, as he was the one who debriefed Alyssa and Yoko while Jill was away. Alyssa, Yoko and the other five were placed in the federal protection program for their safety.

"Second, you gotta keep your base ID on you at all times," Jill continued. "Otherwise, you may attract unwanted attention from the military police here."

"That I already know. Leon's got a visitor's pass thanks to Graham himself, so he's okay. Barry and his family are covered."

"And no one knows we're here. Not Umbrella, and especially not Wesker. Chris reassured me that he covered our tracks as well. Besides, I think Wesker's the greater threat for Umbrella, rather than us. And believe me when I tell you this, but this war against Umbrella is just the beginning.

Next Chapter: Chris, Jill and Barry head for Europe to meet with a former Umbrella employee. Umbrella dispatches its A-Team to deal with Chris and Jill. Zombies on a plane. Jill and Chris' ex-fiancee meet for the first time.


	15. 13: The First Mission Part 1

_**Chapter Thirteen: The First Mission, Part One**_

Snafu's Notes: In a nod to her portrayal of Jill Valentine, Melani Jackson was modeled after British actress Sienna Guillory. Jill's likeness in the games is modeled after Julia Voth, in case anyone is wondering. Also, I've been asked whether nor not **A Change In Pace ** will involve the events of Resident Evil 6, the answer is maybe. Most of the story has already been written. All I got to do is fill in the blanks.

Snafu's Notes, Pt.2: The corrections in regards to Vector and Specter's names has been finished. Also, I am modeling HUNK after the actor Jeremy Renner (Hawkeye in The Avengers)

One Week Later...

The Anti-Umbrella Pursuit and Investigation Team was in most cases, a motley crew consisting of members from various military branches, local and federal law enforcement agencies. The best of the best consisting of the Army's CID, Delta Force and Army Rangers units, the Air Force's Combat Control Unit and Security Police, the Marine Corps' Marine Recon Forces, Navy SEALs, members of the F.B.I., C.I.A., Diplomatic Security Service and the NSA.

Each sector had their own boss, along with a regional commander, who answered to the Secretary of Defense and US STRATCOM, who in turn answered to the President of the United States. All were united in their hatred towards Umbrella. Some had friends in Raccoon City, where they had died in the zombie outbreak. Others had friends and loved ones who were silenced upon finding about Umbrella's sinister motives.

The American government was not alone. All over the world, it was the same. In the United Kingdom, it was the S.A.S., and MI-5 working together. In Russia, the Spetsnaz and FSB were monitoring Umbrella's interests in the region. Interpol and Europol were working in France, Spain, Ukraine, Italy and even Turkey.

Colonel Roland Graham of the United States Air Force was in command of the Air Force's Office of Special Investigations, of which Captain Chris Redfield and Lieutenant Jill Valentine were under his command.

Speaking of which...

* * *

Redfield Home, Andrews Air Force Base.

As Claire Redfield prepared for another day of classes, Jill Valentine was preparing for her first day on the job. She had already been issued her badge and ID identifying her as a field agent of the OSI. Unlike the majority of the OSI, as field agents, Chris and Jill enjoyed certain luxuries, one of which was they they could arrive at work in either their Air Force fatigues, or in semi-casual attire, of which Jill was in the latter.

Graham was pretty flexible with the dress code, but he did expect to see his subordinates dress up in their officers' uniform or their fatigues once in a while. As subordinates under him, he expected them to be professional in both their job and in their appearances.

Since it was Jill's first day on the job, she opted to go with the fatigues. After talking it over with Chris, he too followed suit. Only difference was save that Jill's beret was black with her rank of Second Lieutenant, Chris's beret was red, identifying him as a (former) member of the Combat Control Team. He also had a black beret, but out of respect for Graham and his former unit, he wore the red beret with pride.

As with their days with the S.T.A.R.S., Chris had resumed his training of Jill. With Umbrella being a greater threat and Wesker running lose, her training was more important than ever. In the week before Jill was to begin, Chris had discovered that Jill had a natural talent for being a sharpshooter. So aside from hand-to-hand combat, Chris had taken her – and Claire – to the marksman range.

After a visit to the Combat Control Team's armory, Jill had chosen a sniper rifle – a Heckler and Kotch PSG-1 – and showed off her sniping skills, with Chris and Colonel Graham watching. Needless to say, Graham and even Chris were impressed. Jill was a natural with a sniper rifle. Even though she could not join the Special Forces, that did not mean that Chris could tutor and mentor her in the art of war.

"Ready, Jill?"

Chris's voice broke through Jill's reverie. She looked at her husband, who was also in Air Force fatigues, his red beret on his head.

Jill nodded. Grabbing her own beret, she followed Chris out of their bedroom, and passed Claire on their way out.

* * *

Office of Special Investigations – Andrews Air Force Base

The Office of Special Investigations was located on the opposite end of the base. The offices were located inside a modern three-story building which also housed the Air Force Security Police which patrolled the base. Chris and Jill were inside a conference room, waiting for the arrival of their boss and commanding officer. Jill looked at her husband, who looked rather bored.

Upon arriving at the office, they were flagged down by a passing airman who told them that Graham would meet up with them shortly and told them to wait inside the conference room.

They didn't have to wait long, as Graham entered the conference room, holding a manila folder in one hand. Almost immediately, Chris and Jill snapped to attention.

"At ease, the both of you," Graham said. "Captain Redfield, Lieutenant Valentine, you two are just in luck. I have your first assignment. It appears that someone from Umbrella has defected following several attempts on his life. So far, he's been lucky, but luck can only carry you so far."

"Who is this guy?" Chris asked.

"He is a former member of the Umbrella Corporation's Umbrella Secret Service," Graham explained. "There are two branches of Umbrella's private military corps."

"The first deals with corporate V.I.P.'s, while the second are a group of nightmen - mercenaries and criminals with military training who specializes in cleaning up Umbrella's mess," Jill said, cutting him off.

Graham nodded. "Correct, Lieutenant. How did you know?"

"I've had run-ins with several of their numbers back in Raccoon City during the outbreak, sir," Jill replied. "Corporal Oliveira is a former member. You met him back in Sydney."

"So who is this guy, and why now, Colonel?" Chris asked. "Why is he defecting?"

Graham handed Chris a file on the person in question. Chris and Jill looked at the file on the defector. The photo was of an older-looking man with salt-and-pepper hair, chiseled features, cold eyes.

"Charming guy," Jill said as Chris handed her the file. "Who is he?"

"The man's real name is unknown, but he goes by the codename HUNK," Graham continued. "British national. Former member of the Royal Marines, was recruited into Umbrella shortly after his discharge, working for Umbrella's Research and Development division in Loire Village under Director Christine Henri. Because of his unique ability to survive even the most deadly of missions, he is nicknamed 'Mr. Death.' The reason why he is defecting from Umbrella is unknown, but you can find out once you get in contact with him."

"Where is he?" Jill asked.

"He managed to escape from France," Graham replied. "He is back in London."

Chris groaned. "London. Great."

The last time he was in London was with Evil Ed and Graham himself, while training with the Royal Air Force. Chris, Graham and Ed, along with several of their buddies, had gotten into a brawl with several of the locals while drinking inside a pub, thus ruining Chris's happy hour.

Graham turned to Chris. "Is that going to be a problem, Captain?"

"Remember the last time we were in London, Colonel?" Chris snidely asked.

Graham's expression softened. "Oh...that. Now that wasn't my fault. The local tough's girlfriend was flirting with me," he defended. "And you know I'm a happily married man." He shrugged his shoulders. "What can I say? I attract the hot ones."

Chris turned to Jill. "Long story," was all he said when Jill looked at him, eyebrow raised. Turning back to Graham, he said, "Anything else?"

"I want this to go off without a hitch, meaning that the both of you and Barry will be taking a nice commercial flight to London. I've been in contact with MacPherson, and he had notified your old flame, Captain."

"Mel? What about her, sir?"

"She's your contact. I figured that if you are going to London, better have someone you trust to meet you when the plane touches down. She will provide you with weapons and more intel on your target. Once you made contact with HUNK, then you are to accompany him back to Loire Village for a 'friendly chat' with Director Henri," Graham said. "Barry will accompany the both of you. Just so you know, this is not a honeymoon for the both of you. You are on assignment. You will leave tomorrow. Good luck and dismissed. "

* * *

The following day, Chris, Jill and Barry were walking down the terminal inside Dulles Airport. The trio were dressed incognito, Jill having an overnight bag slung over one shoulder, while Chris and Barry carried sportsbags. Since they were taking a commercial flight, they could not bring their weapons onboard. Mel would provide them with weapons upon their arrival.

"So what exactly happened in London?" Jill asked.

"To make a long story short, Graham, Evil Ed and myself were caught in the middle of a bar fight," Chris replied. "Graham may not look like it, but he can still hold his own and can still kick my ass six falls out of ten. You don't think that we Air Force boys don't know how to fight, you are sadly mistaken."

"Given the fact that I am now an officer of the Air Force, I will soon see that myself," Jill replied.

As Chris, Jill and Barry walked down the boarding ramp, chatting with each other, someone was watching them. She looked like a passenger from another plane, but she was anything but.

She pulled out a cellphone and dialed a number, speaking French into the phone.

"_Bonjour, Directeur parlant Henri,"_ (Hello. Director Henri speaking) the female voice said on the other end.

"_C'est Siobhan, directeur,"_ (It's Sibohan, Director) the woman spoke into the phone. "_Redfield, Valentine et Burton vient montés à bord de leur avion. Vous n'avez rien à _craindre." (Redfield, Valentine and Burton has just boarded their plane. You have nothing to fear, Director.)

"_J'espère que non. Le paquet est-il en place?"_ (I hope not. Is the package in place?)

"_Oui. Comme vous avez commandé, j'ai veillé à ce que le T-virus a été placé en partie de l'eau potable. Tout le monde en première classe vous obtenez bien plus que le champagne gratuit. Et puisque les pilotes et les passagers de première classe avant d'obtenir leurs boissons entraîneur, ni vous, ni parapluie de nous préoccuper de l'atterrissage d'avion._" (Yes. As you ordered, I've made sure that the T-virus has been placed in some of the drinking water. Everyone in first class will get more than just free champagne. And since the pilots and the first-class passengers get their beverages before coach, neither you nor Umbrella have to worry about the plane landing.)

"_A moins _que" (Unless...) the woman said with an evil grin, "_...l'on compte celui qu'ils vont faire dans l'Atlantique Nord."_ (...you count the one they're going to make in the North Atlantic.)

"_Excellent travail."_ (Excellent work,) Henri said. "_Tenez-moi informé. Une fois toutes les trois sont hors du chemin, HUNK n'a aucune chance de s'échapper."_ (Keep me informed. Once those three are out of the way, HUNK has no chance of escaping.)

* * *

Meanwhile, Chris, Jill and Barry had just boarded their plane.

"Look at that," Barry said as they passed a seated passenger, a middle-aged businesswoman sipping on a glass of champagne. The woman looked at the three former S.T.A.R.S. members with disdain as they passed. "Folks in First Class already got something to drink."

"Looks like us second-class citizens won't get any until we're in the air," Jill said, chuckling as she, Chris and Barry moved on to Coach.

The woman in the meantime, took another sip of her champagne. "What gutter trash," she snorted.

In Coach, Chris, Jill and Barry found their seats. "At least the flight isn't full," Chris said, stuffing his and Jill's bags into the overhead compartment. "I'm not that big on airline food anyway. Sooner or later, airline food will kill ya."

Barry plopped into his own seat. "Sucks that we couldn't take our guns onboard."

Jill took her seat by the window. "Don't worry. Our contact has some weapons lined up for us once we get to London."

"Just who is this guy anyway?" Barry asked.

"A former Umbrella operative who defected after they tried to kill him," Jill explained. "He was in Raccoon the same time as I was when the outbreak happened."

"Whoever this guy is, he better be worth the trouble," Chris said.

The three operatives then settled down for their flight as the flight attendants went through with their routine just as the pilot's voice came over the P.A. System.

"Good afternoon and welcome aboard Atlantic Airlines Flight 0601, nonstop from Dulles International Airport to London's Heathrow International Airport. Flight time is approximately eight hours and thirty minutes."

As the pilot droned on, Jill opened her bag and pulled out a bottle of water. She also handed Chris a bottle, while Barry simply buckled his safety belt and was soon dozing off.

* * *

At the same time, somewhere in Hong Kong...

The Umbrella Facility in Hong Kong's main purpose was medical research. However, it also served as a safehouse for members of Umbrella's elite soldiers, the Umbrella Secret Service.

Six of which were inside a hidden conference room. They were the best that the Corporation had to offer. Three men - one Puerto Rican, the second Russian and the third a brooding Japanese man, and three women - a Japanese-American, a German and the team leader, a French woman. This six-person squad was considered the best of the best among the Umbrella special forces, as they had not failed a single mission. They were chosen for their experiences in their respective fields...as well as for their fierce dedication to the company and their lack of remorse in completing their missions.

They were the U.S.S Delta Team. They were also nicknamed 'The Wolfpack.'

Currently, they were in a video conference with the head of Umbrella himself - Lord Ozwell Spencer.

Even as an old man, the regal, aristocratic Englishman commanded respect. Seated inside his private office inside his home, the Umbrella Chief Executive got down to business.

"As always, this is a Class 5 meeting," Spencer began. "Nothing in this room will not be shared outside of this room."

"We know the protocol, Lord Spencer," the commander, Karen Lesproux replied, her English laced with her heavy French accent. Originally a decorated officer in the French Special Forces, she had resigned her commission several years earlier in order to settle down with her husband and start a family. Things, however, did not go as planned. Her husband was an abusive man, even violent towards her. But Lesproux took the abuse in order to keep her children safe. That and she had a very high tolerance level for pain.

But when he had struck down their eldest daughter, Lesproux snapped. When the French police had arrived at the home, they found her standing over the body of her husband, whose neck she had snapped with her bare hands. The wolf had been unleashed. After a much-publicized trial, Lesproux was acquitted and tried her hand in raising her kids as a single mother. But 'trained killer' was something she could not put under her resume. The only thing she was good at - besides being a mother - was being a soldier.

After working for several years as a mercenary, she had gained the attention of Umbrella. Following a series of negotiations, Lesproux was given a very profitable contract within Umbrella. So long as she lives, her children would not want for anything. The blood money she earned paid for their food, their private school education and their medical bills. Her strict demeanor and demand for total obedience from her subordinates had earned her the nickname 'Lupo,' which became her call sign. To her teammates, they called her 'Mother Wolf.'

"As you already know, the company has been hit pretty hard in the last several months," Spencer said. "First...we lost both the Arklay Training Facility and the Spencer Laboratory in Raccoon City, followed by the destruction of the city itself due to the viral outbreak."

This, Lupo and her team knew. They were in Raccoon City on assignment from Lord Spencer himself. They were ordered to not only secure the mainframe from the Umbrella labs, but also liquidate any potential witnesses, especially any surviving R.P.D. officers and the Government Special Operations Unit sent in to gather information on Umbrella's illegal activities.

The Wolfpack had narrowly missed killing Brad Vickers, but the Nemesis saw to his death. They were also assigned to eliminate Jill Valentine and take her body to the Umbrella Corporation's headquarters in Europe. But they steered clear of her, as she was being pursued by the Nemesis. If the inhuman B.O.W. did not kill her, then Nicholai would have done it.

But Jill proved to be tougher than expected, and survived by the skin of her teeth.

"Second, we lost the B.O.W. Facility on Sheena Island," Spencer continued. "And now, we lost both the training facility on Rockfort Island and the Antarctic Facility. The Anti-Umbrella Faction is picking up steam, and will be on their guard. On top of that, I've found out that Director Henri was the one who ordered both the B.O.W. T-Type and the retrieval of the G-Virus from Dr. Birkin. Despite the fact that HUNK had acquired a vial of the G-virus, her actions led to the viral outbreak in Raccoon City."

"She overstepped her position," Christine Yamata noted dryly. An American of Japanese ancestry with a doctorate in virology, she was anti-social growing up, which resulted in her deadpan personality. Detached from human emotions, she saw humans as a breeding ground for one thing – viruses, hence her specialty in virology.

Her position in the Wolfpack made it so that Yamata had not only had the chance of studying several of the most dangerous outbreaks in the world – including Raccoon City and out in Africa, where an Umbrella plant was destroyed – but it also allowed her to experiment with cutting edge viral technology. She also had no qualms on performing live experiments on the wounded, and especially on captives, which proved to be instrumental to the mission.

As she was the brains of the group, she was given the call sign 'Four Eyes,' given her talents with virology. She also had used the technology at her disposal to give her the ability to control B.O.W.'s, such as the zombies and Hunters. Her control did not work over the Tyrants, unfortunately.

Spencer nodded. "Indeed, Dr. Yamata. Although I regret having to place Dr. Duvall as the proverbial fall guy, Director Henri believes herself to be untouchable. That will be soon rectified."

"You want us to eliminate Director Henri?" Lupo asked.

Spencer smiled. It was a creepy sight. "You read my mind, Captain Lesproux. But there's more. We managed to salvage some video feeds from the training facility at Rockfort Island and discovered that Dr. Wesker is not as dead as we originally thought."

Tapping some buttons on his console, Spencer showed the Wolfpack the salvaged video feeds from the ruined island facility, as well as digital video from the Antarctic base. Several of them included his fight with Chris Redfield in the submarine docks.

"Freeze frame," Lupo commanded. "Zoom in."

The image zoomed in on the back of Chris' flak vest, which the S.T.A.R.S. insignia is prominent. "R.P.D. S.T.A.R.S."

The image shrunk until it was similar to a picture within a picture, with Spencer's face being the prominent one shown once again. "You noticed that as well? Looks like we're not the only ones with a grudge against Wesker."

Spencer typed in several more keys, and a picture of the R.P.D. S.T.A.R.S. Unit appeared. Seconds later, the R.P.D. Files containing the four remaining survivors of the Special Tactics and Rescue Service emerged on screen, along with extra notes made by the Umbrella staff.

"Christopher Redfield...Jillianne Valentine...Barry Burton...Rebecca Chambers..." Lupo noted.

"Herein, lies my concern," Spencer said. "These four were part of the elite unit which were decimated during the incident at the Spencer Laboratory. These four are the last survivors. We scouted Redfield early on, given his high IQ, but he opted out for a commission in the Air Force. We reached out to him again in the aftermath of the mansion incident, but he refused our offer."

"The guy's tough. Too bad he's playing for the wrong team," Lupo said. "And Miss Valentine..."

Spencer nodded. "It seems that both Wesker and Birkin had a hand in making Miss Valentine into what she is today. I've skimmed through Birkin's notes on 'Project Valentine,' and she could prove quite useful to the Research and Development Division. Imagine the secrets we can unlock within Valentine's body..."

The sole Russian at the table chuckled. "Boy, is Nicholai going to be pissed when he finds out that Valentine is still alive."

Originally with the Soviet Union's security forces, Vladimir Bodrovski found himself out of a job when the Red Curtain fell. His expertise was in gathering intel, where given the fact that he did not stand out in a crowd, which made his job easy.

His expertise had brought him in contact with the criminal underworld, where he managed to make a decent living. After exploiting the criminal underworld one times too many, he was forced to flee from his native Russia when the heat came down on him. It was Spencer's right-hand man, a fellow Russian by the name of Sergei Vladimir, who had approached him with a job offer. Bodrovski accepted the offer. Given his talents as the Wolfpack's resident surveillance expert, it allowed the unit to remain well-informed during combat situations. The fact that he was handy with a sniper rifle was not too shabby either.

His call sign back in the Soviet Union was Prizrak. Translated into English, it meant 'Specter.'

"Supervisor Ginovaef has already been notified of this blunder and has been demoted accordingly," Spencer said.

"We could have made contact with her on several occasions," Lupo said. "But she had the T-Type stalking her. The fact that she is still alive means she either outsmarted it or killed it." She looked over Jill's file. "Ex-Army. Demolitions and firearms training with Delta Force," Lupo noted with a bit of admiration in her voice. "and the fact that she survived Raccoon City..."

The tall, muscular Latino spoke up upon hearing the word 'demolitions.' "So she likes stuff blowing up too, eh? Woman after my own heart," he said.

Born and raised in San Juan, Hector Hivers was considered the practical joker of the group. Even back in his days in the military, he enjoyed playing pranks, as he believed that laughter was the best way to make friends. But as time passed on, the jokes became more physical, which usually ended up in the total humiliation of his intended targets.

He found a second love in weapons-grade explosives, which led him to joining the military. It did cost him a leg, but he did not care. Despite this, he still lacked restraint. That lack of restraint ultimately led to a dishonorable discharge. It would have been followed with a court-martial had not Umbrella stepped in and retained his services.

'Beltway,' as he is called, fit right in with the Wolfpack, as his lack of compassion and his expertise in anything that goes boom proved to be a useful talent for the group.

Four Eyes scanned Chris' bio. "A genius...looks like we were not the ones interested in Redfield. WilPharma and Tricell also scouted him before he signed on to the Air Force."

"It appears that toughness runs in the Redfield family," Specter noted as he also looked at Chris' bio. "His younger sister, along with an R.P.D. Officer survived Raccoon City along with Birkin's daughter. She was caught inside the Paris facility and taken to Rockfort Island. I'm willing to bet that her older brother possibly had a hand in her survival."

"It's likely," Lupo pondered.

"As it turns out, this also coincides with your next mission," Spencer said. "You are to head for Loire Village and eliminate Director Henri. I also have it on good authority that HUNK has defected from our little family."

At that, the Japanese male looked up. No one in the Wolfpack knew his name, but it was a known fact that he was a pupil of Mr. Death himself, and was so emo to the point that he could give Sasuke Uchiha a run for his money. He was a master of stealth, cold and calculating. A former pupil of HUNK, he shared the same qualities as his mentor – sharing the same level of contempt for those Umbrella operatives who were inferior to both him and HUNK.

He was assigned to Delta, despite his requests that he would work at his mentor's side. But HUNK worked better alone. Now, he was a potential traitor. And Umbrella does not treat their traitors well.

"Your orders are as follows," Spencer said. "You are to head for Loire Village and eliminate Director Henri. Then, you are to head for England, where we have reports of that is where HUNK is hiding."

"And what of S.T.A.R.S. and Dr. Wesker?" Lupo asked.

"They are your secondary targets," Spencer replied. "If you encounter them, then eliminate them. However, as they are stationed at Andrews Air Force Base, killing them there would cause even more trouble for the company. Valentine is top priority, as is Wesker, as their bodies will unlock many secrets that will further Umbrella's goals."

The Teutonic blonde was looking over Jill's records. "Aside from the P-20 in her system, we could use whatever antibodies she developed from her exposure from the T-virus to create a more potent vaccine. The virus in Wesker's body is also quite interesting."

Hailing from Germany, Michaela Heinzwaffen, codenamed 'Bertha,' was a talented medic, despite her apparent lack of bedside manner. As part of Delta, it was her task to keep her teammates alive. She also served as the unit's 'interrogation specialist.' Aside from her skills of healing, she also was known for seeing how much pain a human body could take.

Her sadistic bedside manner made her unfit in the civilian field, but was perfect for Umbrella. Her ability to bring her victims to the brink of death and back has attracted the attention of several crime syndicates, to which she renders her services as a professional torturer.

"Indeed. Although I fear that I have given Birkin and Wesker too much leeway in their experiments," Spencer said. "At least Birkin saved me the trouble of killing him. Wesker is the bigger threat. You have your orders. Head for Loire Village and eliminate Director Henri."

"And HUNK?" Lupo asked.

"Regrettably, I must issue termination orders for Mr. Death as well," Spencer replied grimly. "Director Henri is the primary target. HUNK and Miss Valentine are your secondary objectives. Detain Miss Valentine. Her teammates are expendable."

Lupo nodded and with that, the meeting was over.

Beltway was looking at Chris' profile. "Look at this...marksman champion...and a knife nut. Looks like you got yourself a rival, Vector."

Vector looked up, eyes glinting dangerously. The grip on his knife tightened as he brought up Chris' profile on his screen. Sure enough, Chris' profile showed that he was an expert in knife combat. The fact that he survived the Spencer Mansion, Rockfort Island and Caliban Cove using those same knife techniques backed that claim up.

"Interesting," Vector said in flawless English. "A man worth killing."

* * *

Eight hours and twelve minutes into the flight...

One of the flight attendants who was stationed in first class came across the female passenger who was just eight hours earlier, sipping on a glass of champagne.

Unknown to her, the champagne was spiked, as was the drinks that were served to the first class passengers and the pilots.

The woman was slumped over in her seat, not moving.

"Ma'am?" the stewardess began, gently shaking the woman's shoulder. "Ma'am? Are you okay?"

A low moan came from the woman as she looked at the stewardess. The skin was pale, her eyes glazed over. Before the stewardess knew what was happening, the now-zombified passenger grabbed the woman and pulled her in. The stewardess screamed as she felt her cheek and throat being ripped out.

* * *

The screams the three ex-S.T.A.R.S. members to full alert, which was followed by the unmistakable moan of the walking dead.

The surviving stewardess came running through the curtain separating first class from coach followed by two first-class passengers who had narrowly escaped the onslaught. "They...they...THEY LOOK LIKE ZOMBIES!" the attendant screamed hysterically.

Sure enough, the first zombie that came through was the one that was attacked moments before. Eyes glazed over, skin pale as death, mouth and lower half of her face bloodied, her cheek missing, exposing her teeth as she shambled down the aisle.

"Move to the back of the plane!" Barry shouted to the other passengers as Chris and Jill prepared themselves for the onslaught. "Everyone move to the back of the plane!"

"No knife, no gun," Jill muttered as she picked up her tray, spilling the food on the floor. "Freakin' great."

Jill smacked the zombie twice with the aluminum tray, bending it with each impact, until Jill's leg lashed out, the hiking boot catching the undead stewardess on the chin, sending it to the floor. One stomp to the back of the head, and its neck snapped like a twig, putting it out of commission.

"I always said that airline food can kill ya," Chris said as he plunged a screwdriver – which he pilfered from one of the bags in the overhead compartments – into the downed zombie's brain.

"Looks like you were right," Jill said as three more zombies came through.

Barry, in the meantime, had also went through some of the bags and came up with a can of hairspray. Fumbling though his pockets, he produced a lighter with the R.P.D. insignia. "All right, you smelly bastards," the older man said, "come and get your perm!"

Holding the makeshift flamethrower in his hands, he flicked the lighter and squeezed the nozzle.

**WHOOSH!**

Three of the attacking zombies were instantly incinerated by the flames.

"Barry, careful!" Chris shouted as he doused the barbecued zombies with a fire extinguisher. "You set the plane on fire, we'll all be toast!"

"Sorry!" Barry replied as he picked up a baseball bat and cracked the skull of a zombified stewardess. He saw another zombie with half of its face chewed off closing in on the Air Force commando. "Chris, heads up!"

"Grr..." Chris gritted his teeth as he clocked the zombie with the empty extinguisher, bashing its head into paste with the extinguisher. "I've had it (**CRUNCH) **with these goddamn zombies (**CRUNCH) **on this goddamn plane (**CRUNCH)**!**"**

Jill elbowed a zombie in the face, causing it to stagger. She then followed it with a gloved fist to the face. "I am so fucking sick of these things!" she snarled as she yanked the extinguisher from Chris's hands. She then delivered the coupe-de-grace as she smashed the zombie's skull with the extinguisher. "So hurry up and fucking **die**!"

Barry had commandeered a second extinguisher and was following Jill's lead by caving in another zombie's skull. The threat was almost neutralized, but their troubles were far from over.

"Guys! We got a problem here!" Jill shouted over the melee.

"What problem?" Barry shouted as he smashed another zombie's skull while Chris's foot sent another zombie's nose into its brain. "We're almost home free!"

Chris turned to Jill, who was looking down at the zombie she just killed. Chris looked at the zombie and noticed the formerly clean white shirt with rank.

"Oh, shit," Chris cursed. "You just killed the pilot, Jill."

Barry looked at the zombies he just pounded. "Looks like this was the co-pilot and navigator here."

In a flash, Chris bolted towards the front of the plane, with Jill and Barry following close behind, laying waste to the remaining zombies in first class.

The cockpit was empty, given the fact that the pilot, co-pilot and the navigator were part of the undead that had attacked the plane.

"Chris, can you fly this plane?" Jill asked as Chris got into the pilot's seat.

"It's not a Hercules or anything I've flown, but I think I got the gist of it," Chris replied as he picked up the headset. "Barry, calm the passengers down and make sure that there are no more surprises onboard."

Barry nodded. "Got it."

As Barry departed, Jill climbed into the copilot's chair and strapped herself in. "Better hope that none of the controls or anything else was damaged when the pilots and the navigator turned, otherwise this landing is going to be very interesting."

Jill glared at her husband. "Define 'interesting.'"

In an extremely deadpan expression, Chris replied, "'Oh crap, oh crap, we're so very screwed' interesting."

Jill saw that London's Heathrow Airport was in the distance. "Look, Chris! The airport!"

Chris nodded as he flipped the emergency frequency. "Heathrow Airport, this is Captain Chris Redfield, United States Air Force. We have an emergency on-board Atlantic Airlines Flight 0601. Our emergency clearance is C601999."

"Copy that, Captain Redfield," the voice replied on the other end of the radio. "You are clear to land. Emergency aid has been dispatched. Proceed to Runway 15B."

"Okay...let's see if I remember this," Chris muttered. "Altitude...wing span...landing gear...got it!" He strapped himself into his seat. Jill did the same.

Jill flipped on the intercom system. "Everyone! Get into your seats and strap yourselves in! This is going to be a bumpy landing!"

Chris's grip tightened on the controls. "Hang on!"

Bumpy was an understatement. Despite the surviving passengers being tossed around like rag dolls, the plane had landed with a loud screeching sound. Once all of the plane's wheels were on the ground, Chris hit the breaks. Slowly, but surely, the plane came to a stop.

"Nice landing," Jill said, her voice filled with sarcasm.

Chris unbuckled his harness. "Thanks," he replied as he got up. Jill unbuckled her own harness and followed after him. Aside from a couple of bumps to the head, the remaining passengers and stewardesses were alive.

Outside, the fire department, several ambulances and even a biohazard team approached the plane. The plane's hatches opened, the emergency slides inflating, allowing the passengers to escape from the aircraft. Chris, Jill and Barry were the last to leave.

Meanwhile, a squad of heavily-armed SAS troops had arrived and proceeded to enter the plane. The sound of a single gunshot was heard, signaling that there was one remaining zombie onboard. One of the SAS troopers gave the signal to the biohazard team. The six-man team boarded the plane and began the process of removing the undead bodies.

Meanwhile, Chris, Jill and Barry had caught up with their contact. Lieutenant Melanie Jackson of Her Majesty's Royal Air Force had caught word of the outbreak and had rushed to the scene. A petite British woman who was slightly shorter than Jill, with dyed red hair and intense blue eyes, like the three Americans, Jackson was also dressed incognito, clad in casual attire.

Chris approached her first, shaking her hand. "Mel. It's been a while."

"Captain Redfield," Jackson replied. "Heard you had been brought back into the Air Force from MacPherson. I thought the bastard was full of himself, till Colonel Graham confirmed it. Has a nice ring to it."

Chris then conducted the introductions. "My wife and partner, Lieutenant Jill Valentine, and this is Barry Burton. Jill, Barry, Lieutenant Melanie Jackson, Royal Air Force."

"Welcome to England," Jackson said. "You always knew how to make quite an entrance, Captain. Follow me."

* * *

Thirty minutes later...

Inside a RAF-owned safehouse overlooking the Thames River, Chris, Jill and Barry were briefed on their assignment. All three were dressed in their S.T.A.R.S. uniforms, the same ones they wore during that fateful mission into the Spencer Mansion. Chris's uniform was slightly modified. On the back of the vest was the 'Made in Heaven' logo – the winged angel holding the bomb with one hand and four rows of bombs underneath the angel.

Jackson was overseeing the operation. "This is a joint operation between Special Intelligence Service and the Office of Special Intelligence. From what we know HUNK is holed up inside a flat on the fourth floor in Manchester. He knows that the three of you are coming and has decided to stay put until you arrive and get him out of there. Once he is safely secured, you will head over to Loire Village to question Director Henri."

"Who's she?" Jill asked.

Jackson pulled up a dossier on the woman in question. "Christine Henri. She is the director of research and development at the Umbrella's offices in Loire Village. It also appeared that she had a hand in the Nemesis program. Director Henri was also the one who ordered HUNK and his unit to retrieve the G-virus from Dr. Birkin back in Raccoon City."

"So the whole mess was her fault," Barry surmised.

Jackson nodded. "Yes. Her hands are stained with the blood of those poor souls. Of course, Umbrella's hit squad has already the same info as you. The only advantage we have is that they don't know the exact floor of HUNK's flat."

"And I hope you got some toys for us to use," Jill said. "I seriously doubt that harsh language would be useful against a hit squad armed with firearms."

"That little problem has been take care of," Jackson replied. "Hope you don't mind using SAS hardware. Follow me."

In the next room, laid out on a table, were three assault rifles and three smaller cases.

"Pays to have good friends in high places," Jackson said as Jill picked up one of the assault rifles. "That is the primary assault rifle of the British SAS – the H&K G36C. Uses 5.56x45 millimeter NATO rounds, 30-round clip. Has a bit of a kick to it, but very accurate."

"Nothing like a high-quality problem solver," Chris said as he picked up his own. "Sidearms?"

Jackson opened up one of the boxes. "H&K USP P8 pistol. Eighteen-round clip, laser sighting optional. As you can see, I was only able to get two." She stood up and retrieved a third box from under the table. "But I got something that might interest Mr. Burton here."

Jackson flipped the lid open. Barry took one look at was inside, and his grizzled expression actually lit up. He reached inside the box and pulled out the weapon. The weapon in question was a Taurus Raging Bull Revolver. Unlike the tactical black of the USP P8, the Raging Bull was chrome.

"I take it your friend here has a thing for revolvers?" Jackson asked Chris and Jill.

"You have no idea," Chris and Jill said in unison.

"This is the Taurus .454 Magnum – the Raging Bull," Barry said. "Robert Kendo was supposed to order it for me, but I had to leave Raccoon with my family." He opened the chamber. "Please tell me you got the .454 Casul rounds for this baby."

Jackson grinned and produced a smaller box. Inside was nine speed loaders, each containing six rounds each. Fifty-four rounds in total.

"Christmas has come early for me," Barry said as he loaded the Raging Bull.

"Tell you what," Jackson said. "Survive the mission, and I'll let you keep it – no charge."

"Deal," Barry said, sliding the revolver into the front holster.

"Right then. Let's pick up Mr. Death." As Chris followed Barry and Jill out of the room, Melani stopped him. "Captain Redfield. A word."

Chris nodded to Barry and Jill, telling them to go on ahead while he remained behind. "Something on your mind, Mel?"

"I never expected to hear that you got hitched," Melani admitted. "Not after what that bastard Kelso did to you."

"Stacey's no longer a problem," Chris replied. "She was caught in the outbreak. Claire told me that she found Stacey a zombie, and put her out of her misery."

"A fate that I would not wish on anybody," Melani admitted. "So...that's you wife," she said, in regards to Jill. "You always did know how to choose them. Are you happy?"

Chris raised an eyebrow. "You're still concerned about me after all this time?"

"Yes, you bloody oaf. Even though we dated for a while, I still care for you well being," Melani admitted. "Not that I'm trying to hit on you or anything. I don't mess with married men. David makes me very happy. I can see that you care for her a great deal. So...are you happy?"

"Yeah," Chris admitted. "With everything that's happened in between...I can truly say that Jill makes me very happy."

Melani smiled. "Then I'm glad for you. Come on. They're waiting for us."

* * *

Jill Valentine was outside the room, listening in on the conversation.

Jill would have been lying if she had said that she was slightly jealous of Melani, she had to admit. But after hearing her husband and his ex talk about her in a positive light, the jealousy faded, her respect towards Melani going up by several points. She quickly retreated from the hall, and waited alongside Barry for Chris and Melani to arrive.

After all, she, along with Chris and Barry, had a mission to complete.

Next Chapter: Meeting Mr. Death. HUNK reveals his motives to Jill. A confrontation with Director Henri. The S.T.A.R.S. versus The Wolfpack.


	16. 14: The First Mission Part 2

_**Chapter Fourteen: The First Mission, Part Two**_

The drive to HUNK's Manchester hideout took thirty minutes. Jackson had commandeered an unmarked van, with the three former S.T.A.R.S. members in the back.

Jackson pulled the van to a stop at the corner. Down the street, was a black sedan parked in front of the flat. Standing at the front door, was a guard. Aside from a homeless bum who was sleeping in an alley, the streets were deserted.

"Looks like the hit squad's already arrived," Chris noted. "There's a sentry outside. My guess is that there are more inside."

"Any ideas as to how we get in without being detected?" Jill asked.

After a moment, Chris smiled. "I got an idea." He began to remove his vest, revealing the white T-shirt underneath. Retrieving his leather jacket, he slipped it on, ordering Jackson to hand over her denim jacket to Jill.

* * *

Outside HUNK's hideout, the guard watched with a wary eye as a couple approached the building's doors. From the look of things, they appeared to be very drunk, given the slurred speech and the fact that the woman at his side was giggling.

When the couple made their way to the front door, the guard stepped in front of the door. "I'm sorry, sir, but you got to move on," he ordered.

"Move on?" the man repeated in English, his heavy Dutch accent evident. "The fuck you mean I got to move on? I live here. So move out the way. I plan on mounting this fine Irish beauty. Show her how we do things from where I'm from, yes?"

The woman giggled. "Oh, you say such nasty things," she replied in a light Irish accent.

The man said something in Dutch, before going back into English. "Oh, don't worry, sweet cheeks," he said. "I will show you nasty, just as soon as we get inside."

"I'm sorry, sir," the guard said. "You are not getting in."

"Listen here...I told you before, I live here in this building. Now get the fuck out the way," the man replied.

"And I told you, you Russian piece of shit," the guard spat out, as he shoved the guy back several steps. "You are not getting inside."

"I'm not Russian, jerkoff," the man slurred.

He then dropped the guard with a blow to the temple.

"I'm Dutch," Chris finished, dropping the accent, as he dragged the guy inside the building. Jill quickly checked the car. It was empty. Jill waved to Barry, who quickly made his way to them carrying Jill's harness and Chris' flak vest. Mel pulled around and handed them their weapons, before returning to her stakeout point.

Chris frisked the guy he dropped. He was armed, a HP-5 submachine gun and a Glock sidearm. Once those were taken from him, Chris disabled the car by having Jill pop open the hood and yanked out the distributor cap, before placing the guy back in the car, handcuffed to the wheel.

Once they were ready, the three ex-S.T.A.R.S. Members entered the building, Jill taking point, Barry following behind and Chris in the rear. Armed with the G36C assault rifles, which has been outfitted with silencers in order not to rouse any suspecting neighbors, Jill, Barry and Chris ascended the stairs. Upon reaching the fourth floor, the trio inched their way towards room No. 4.

The door was unlocked, meaning that someone was inside. Jill flashed three fingers, which meant that there were three more men inside tearing the place apart.

"Find anything?" the first voice asked.

"Nothing," the second man replied. "You think we were given the wrong address?"

"No. We had HUNK tailed. This is the right place. Survaillance said that he was still here. We need to be out of here before any rescue attempt could be made."

Rounding the corner, they saw two men talking with one another as they rifled through HUNK's things. A third stood close by. Chris and Jill silently moved in. When they turned around, they saw Chris and Jill, but it was already too late. As one, the couple calmly raised their guns and fired a three-round burst. The first two men fell to the ground in a heap, but the third man had forced Barry to take cover as he returned fire.

Dropping her assault rifle, Jill closed in on the third man. The third hitman saw her coming and turned his attention from Barry to her. Jill quickly disarmed the man, kicking the gun out of his hands before planting both feet in his chest, knocking him backwards.

But before the inevitable fight could take place, a newcomer entered the fray. The third goon was so focused on Jill that he failed to notice the newcomer looming behind him. Chris, Jill and Barry sure as hell did and backed off.

The man's hands reached out and gripped the remaining hitman's head with his hands, before twisting it violently to the side. The loud **SNAP** made it clear that the final goon was dead before the body hit the floor as a result of a broken neck.

The man stepped into the light. It was the hobo from the street. But he was anything but as he removed the hood which covered his face. Chris, Barry and Jill found themselves facing a man in his early-to-mid thirties, ice-blue eyes, with salt-and-pepper hair and day-old stubble. Removing the disguise, it was revealed that he was wearing the all-black uniform of the Umbrella Security Service.

"I had a feeling that Umbrella would reach me before you would," the man said. "Which is why I decided to hide out in the streets. After all, the best place to hide is out in plain sight."

"You're HUNK?" Jill asked as she, Chris and Barry lowered their guns.

"I am," he replied. "And you must be the infamous R.P.D. Special Tactics and Rescue Service. What's left of them, anyway."

Chris nodded. "Captain Chris Redfield, U.S. Air Force."

"Lieutenant Jill Valentine, of the same," Jill introduced herself.

"Barry Burton," Barry said.

HUNK nodded. "Anyway, your exploits are pretty well known within Umbrella. Even to the point that Old Man Spencer has quite a price on your heads." He turned to Jill. "I thought you'd be taller."

Jill's eye twitched at that remark.

"Introductions aside, we must get going," HUNK said. "Umbrella will send more to check up on these three idiots. And Director Henri has a lot of explaining to do as to why she tried to have me killed."

Following their escape from HUNK's hideout, the group retreated back to the safehouse, where they prepared for their next move.

* * *

A train, underneath the English Channel.

Jill found herself wide awake as she train sped through the underwater tunnel. Chris and Barry were fast asleep. HUNK, however, was awake. The ex-Umbrella operative was looking out the window, lost in his thoughts. The group was on their way to Paris, where they would head for Loire Village to confront Director Henri.

"Couldn't sleep?" HUNK asked.

"No. You?" Jill replied.

"Got too much on my mind." He turned to face Jill. He glanced at the sleeping Chris and his wedding band before leveling his gaze on Jill. "You two are good for each other, you know. You shore up the others' weaknesses while reinforcing the strengths of the other."

"I have to admit that were if not for the extra training that Chris put me through, I would not have made it out of Raccoon City," Jill admitted. She then paused for a moment. "Can I ask you something?"

"The million dollar question. You want to know why I decided to betray Umbrella, right?"

Jill nodded.

HUNK retrieved a photo from his pocket and handed it to the young lieutenant. Upon inspection, Jill saw that it was a picture of HUNK and a woman, a pretty brunette. She was smiling, while HUNK had a small grin in the picture, which was taken in Paris.

"Her name was Sarah," HUNK began, emotion showing on his usually-neutral face. "She worked with the company as a secretary. She had no involvement with Umbrella's shady dealings. She knew that I worked security, but she did not know about me being 'Mr. Death.' It was shortly after I returned from an escort mission to Rockfort Island that I found her inside her home..."

Jill saw his face darken.

"Sarah was an innocent," HUNK continued. "I found her inside her room. She was beaten and raped."

Jill blanched, remembering her own near rape at the hands of her strung-out ex-boyfriend.

"It was an ambush. Umbrella Security Service – people I've worked with – they had orders from Henri to execute me and make it look like a murder-suicide, and the top man himself signed off on those orders."

"The top man?"

"Lord Ozwell Spencer, one of the three founders of Umbrella. Sarah told me right before she died that she had stumbled onto some of Umbrella's dark secrets. Lord Spencer ordered her termination. He probably knew that I would go digging and since I know most of Umbrella's dark secrets, he ordered my termination as well."

"So you're doing this out of vengeance?"

"Vengeance for Sarah. Spite for betraying me. I survived the ambush and fled the country. Her Majesty's Government had already joined the Americans in their inquiries regarding Umbrella's dark secrets following Raccoon City, and when I surrendered to them, the Americans, England and Interpol offered me a deal: Immunity from prosecution in exchange for what I know. I already had a treasure trove of evidence stashed away just in case Umbrella betrayed me, which I turned over to the British. Interpol and the Americans will soon receive copies of the evidence of Umbrella's dealings."

"There's something else," Jill said.

"Hmm...your dedication for the truth is admirable," HUNK noted. "There is something else. By now, word will reach Lord Spencer that I had defected from Umbrella, which means he will spare no expense in trying to kill me. Which means he will more than likely dispatch the elite of the USS for the task."

"I thought you was the elite," Jill pointed out. "You are, after all, Mr. Death."

"Oh, I am. But it takes an elite to kill an elite. And these are the best that Umbrella has to offer. I'll explain everything once your husband and Barry is awake. You should try to get some sleep."

Jill nodded.

* * *

The next morning, over breakfast, HUNK laid out the plan, as well as what they were up against.

"The Wolfpack – the elite of the elite," HUNK explained. "A six-soldier team. They are the best at what they do, and have no qualms about killing, which is why the company has chosen them. If I know Spencer, he would dispatch them once he found out that I am still alive, and that you three were sent to retrieve me. They were in Raccoon City during the outbreak, as was I, with orders to kill any survivors."

"You know them?"

HUNK grunted. "I do. I even trained one of them. The Wolfpack know of my reputation as Mr. Death, and I know of their reputation as Spencer's go-to team for impossible jobs. We respect each other enough to keep out of the other's way."

HUNK then gave the three ex-S.T.A.R.S. the strengths and weaknesses of the Wolfpack, as well as their specialties in combat.

"So we got the squad leader, a demolitions expert, a virologist, a sniper, a sadistic medical expert, and a specialist in stealth and knife combat," Chris surmised. "That's one hell of a crew."

"Indeed," HUNK said. "They have no morals, no qualms about killing anyone who gets in their way, especially civilians. Which is why we need to get to Director Henri before they do. Once we get the information needed, we head for the Umbrella offices in the town. But be warned, because of Director Henri's actions, Umbrella will be targeting her along with myself. Once they find out that you three are here, they will try to kill you in order to tie up some loose ends, while Lieutenant Valentine will be taken to White Umbrella, given her 'personal connections' to Umbrella."

"How do you know that the Wolfpack would target all of us?" Barry asked.

"That's what I would have done," HUNK replied. "Umbrella does not like loose ends. And left's face it, all of us are just that. We need to be careful if we want to survive. The Wolfpack does not fuck around. Each member is a cold-blooded killer. If we do run into them, we may have a fight on our hands. That is something I wish to avoid for the moment. The mission parameters are clear. You already made contact with me. Now...we question Director Henri."

* * *

Christine Henri's home – outside of Loire Village, France, hours later...

Christine Henri was not having a good day.

First, she had found out that the assassination attempt on the three remaining S.T.A.R.S. Members had failed. Second was the fact that HUNK had escaped from the trap that Lord Spencer had set up for him with the aid of said three members. Third, was that she had gotten out of a meeting with Spencer himself. She had set up a senior-level scientist named Morpheus Duvall to take the fall for Raccoon City, but Spencer knew better.

A pretty, intelligent woman in her late thirties, she had worked her way up the ranks. She ran the Research and Development division in Loire Village with an iron fist. But her power and influence was starting to wane in the eyes of Ozwell Spencer himself, and it showed during a video conference with the old man himself earlier that day.

"_Director Henri, you disappoint me," Spencer's elderly voice showed no remorse, but it was laced with plenty of disappointment. "Explain to me why your actions not only caused the outbreak and subsequent destruction of Raccoon City, not to mention that without authorization from myself, you sent the T-Type into Raccoon City. And on top of that, we have the world's law enforcement entities at our doorstep."_

"_Lord Spencer," Henri had replied. "We had evidence that Dr. Birkin was planning on defecting from the company, and I had to act accordingly. The T-virus research he had taken from Dr. Marcus had produced excellent results, but..."_

_Spencer then cut her off. "But nothing! You overstepped your authority! I had my own plans for Birkin which did not involve getting himself killed! We had invested billions in Raccoon City, both in the chemical plant and in the laboratories stationed there! $30 billion, Director Henri! The Global Pharmaceutical Consortium is also demanding an inquiry into our affairs and we are in no position to refuse them!"_

"_Lord Spencer, let me handle the inquiry..."_

"_No. You have done enough damage with your actions. Your time will come when you will answer for your slights towards Umbrella and to me."_

She had retreated back to her villa outside of Loire Village following the disastrous meeting with the Umbrella head...after executing the laboratory's staff in a fit of rage. She knew that Spencer would either terminate her employment. Worst case scenario is that she could be killed by HUNK, captured by the Americans...or used as a test subject.

Her armed bodyguard escorted her inside the house, and followed her to her private study. Unlike Henri, who had her own personal sedan, the bodyguard came with his own vehicle provided by Umbrella. The bodyguard – a member of the Umbrella Security Service and a military man – took a seat on the couch while Henri sat behind her desk.

It was only when Henri turned on the desk's lamp that both her and the bodyguard heard the unmistakable sound of a submachine gun being cocked.

The bodyguard immediately took his place beside the Umbrella executive, his handgun drawn. A single bead from a targeting laser rested on Henri's chest. Henri watched as HUNK emerged from the far corner of the room, dressed in his trademark body armor and helmet, the gas mask with the red lenses secured over his face, the TMP submachine gun in his hands.

"HUNK," Henri noted. _"Vous devez être très courageux ou très stupide de revenir ici tout seul._" (You must be either very brave or very stupid to come back here alone.)

"_Je suis difficile à tuer. Vous de tous les gens savent que_," (I'm hard to kill. You of all people know that) HUNK replied.

The bodyguard had the gun raised at HUNK's chest. Then he noticed Barry emerging from behind a door, Raging Bull in one hand. "Two!" the bodyguard shouted.

Chris emerged from behind the window curtain, assault rifle aimed at the bodyguard. "I can count better than that," he snorted.

The bodyguard snapped his head and weapon to Chris. "Three!" he shouted.

Henri's eyes narrowed as she recognized both Chris and Barry.

The bodyguard was distracted, as he did not notice Jill emerge from behind him. He did, however, felt her handgun drill into the back of his skull. "Three's company. Four is a crowd. Toss the weapon over."

The bodyguard complied. He tossed his handgun over, where it landed at Barry's feet. Henri soon found herself facing Chris and Jill. The three ex-police officers faced down the Director of Loire Village.

"_Chris Redfield, Jill Valentine et Barry Burton_," (Chris Redifield, Jill Valentine and Barry Burton) Henri began. "_Autrefois de l'R.P.D. S.T.A.R.S. unité. Il est évident que vous trois sont très difficiles à tuer. Et ici, j'ai entendu que vous étiez au repos dans une tombe d'eau dans l'Atlantique Nord._" (Formerly of the R.P.D. S.T.A.R.S. unit. It is apparent that you three are very hard to kill. And here, I heard that you were resting in a watery grave in the North Atlantic.)

"_Comme vous pouvez le voir, les rumeurs de nos morts ont été grandement exagérées_," (As you can see, the rumors of our deaths were greatly exaggerated,) Chris replied in French. He then switched over to English. "HUNK said that you are fluent in English. Would you mind speaking that, since my partners cannot understand French?"

"Fair enough," Henri replied. She leaned back in her seat. "Your French is excellent, Captain Redfield. For a moment, I thought you had spent time in France." She paused for a moment. "I can see that trying to kill the three of you on the plane was a bad idea."

Jill's eyes narrowed. "So what was you who leaked the T-virus on the plane."

"And we know that it was because of your actions, Raccoon City was nuked into oblivion," Chris finished.

"How perspective of you," Henri replied. "Yes, I did order HUNK and his unit to retrieve the G-virus from Dr. Birkin. However, the blame falls on Birkin, as it was his actions which led to the outbreak."

"That we already know," Chris said.

Henri paused for a moment. She leaned back in her chair, contemplating how she could turn this to her advantage. "How can we make this disappear without any further bloodshed? In my private accounts, there is $70 million, American. I can take you to it. You can take the money and go."

"You can keep your blood money," Barry replied. "People died in Raccoon City because of your actions! Innocent people because of your greed."

Henri snorted. "As I've said before...the blame falls on Birkin's shoulders. As to the people of Raccoon City, that was nothing more than a minor setback for the greater good of the company."

At that, a vein pulsed in Jill's head. "A 'minor setback?' Over 100,000 people are dead and you call that a 'minor setback?'"

'Whoa. Scary,' HUNK thought.

"Exactly what I said," Henri replied, her tone smug. "It is something the likes of you does not understand, Lieutenant Valentine. In this business, people get hurt, and in some cases, die. Men, women, even children. For Umbrella to succeed in their viral and biological research, sacrifices must be made in order to produce the desired results. I thought that you of all people would understand, given your...'personal connections' to Umbrella."

Jill blinked. "How do you know about that?"

"Oh, there is not much that I do not know about Project Valentine," Henri continued. "Even Lord Spencer knows about you being Wesker and Birkin's pet project. I admit that sending the T-Type to kill you and any surviving S.T.A.R.S. members was a rushed move. But imagine what Umbrella could unlock if we can run tests on your body, to unlock the secrets which it contain."

"I've heard this before from Wesker," Jill snorted.

* * *

Half a mile away from the villa, two unmarked vans slowed to a stop. In the first van was Lupo, Beltway and Vector, while Bertha, Four-Eyes and Specter were in the second van.

The Wolfpack has come to play.

"Game time, people," Lupo spoke through her headset. "I want this quick and clean. Specter, give me some fire discipline. I want Henri and whoever is inside quick and dead."

The Russian sniper nodded and retrieved a sniper rifle from the van.

* * *

Back inside...

"Wesker is nothing but a talentless hack riding on the coattails of Birkin and Lord Spencer," Henri continued. "Without them, he is nothing. People die. In this business, when it is imperative to make sacrifices for the greater good." She turned to HUNK. "You of all people know this, HUNK."

"True, but you didn't have to kill Sarah," HUNK shot back. "She was an innocent."

"She stuck her nose where it didn't belong!" Henri shot back, rising to her feet. "Spencer himself signed off on her termination! In this business, there are no innocents. If Umbrella wants to kill your girlfriend to protect its secrets, or use an entire town for its bio-weapons research, they can and will do just that! That way heroes don't get confused and go on 60 Minutes. They instead crawl back into the holes they came from."

HUNK leveled his submachine gun at Henri's head. "I think it's time for you to make that call."

The window pane behind Henri then broke and Henri jerked slightly. Looking down at her chest, she saw that a crimson liquid was staining her blouse. She fell back to her seat, dead.

The bodyguard was not as lucky, as his right eye exploded from a high-velocity bullet to the head. The bodyguard was dead before he hit the ground, while Henri slumped forward.

"Sniper!" Chris shouted as he and the others took cover, thus missing the bullets that were aimed at them.

* * *

Outside...

"Henri has been terminated," Specter had reported from his headset.

"Good work," came Lupo's reply.

"There's more. Mr. Death is here, and he has brought guests. The three American S.T.A.R.S. Operatives – Redfield, Burton and Valentine."

Lupo's decision was instant. "Terminate all the men, but restrain Valentine if possible."

"They are taking cover as we speak. Requesting backup."

"Request granted," Lupo replied. Turning to Beltway and Vector she ordered them to head inside the villa. "Bring Valentine to me. Everyone else is expendable. Meet up with Beltway and Specter in front of the main villa and find them."

"Understood. And if Valentine refuses to come willingly?"

"Then terminate her and retrieve her body for study," Lupo replied calmly.

* * *

Inside...

"That didn't take them long," HUNK muttered as he pilfered Henri's ID card from her corpse, while Chris did the same for the bodyguard. The keys to the Humvee outside were on Henri's desk, out in the open, and Chris wasn't going to risk getting shot.

"Wolfpack?" Chris asked.

HUNK nodded. "Yeah. I recognize Specter's handiwork anywhere. We need to get out of here before they come in. Otherwise, all of this would have been for nothing."

"I second that," Jill replied. "Any ideas?"

"There is no other way," HUNK replied. "We got to go through them."

Chris turned to Jill. "Know how to hotwire that Humvee outside?"

Jill grinned. "Are you kidding? Hotwiring cars is a Valentine specialty. So a Humvee is no problem."

* * *

Moments later Vector and Beltway stood outside Henri's villa. Seconds later, Specter came and joined them, sniper rifle slung over one shoulder.

"Lupo said you might need some help," Beltway said.

The Russian sniper nodded. "Yup," Beltway replied. "Eliminate HUNK and the two men, and capture Valentine. What about Henri?"

"Unless she can survive her heart exploding in her chest, it's a safe bet that she is dead," Specter replied casually. "Let's move."

"Redfield is mine," Vector growled as the three men walked past the bodyguard's vehicle, which was parked by Henri's Umbrella-issued SUV, not giving it a second thought. The bodyguard's vehicle was a black Humvee - a M1113S1. The S250 'shelter carrier' was absent, leaving the truck's bed exposed. Emblazoned on the doors was the insignia of the Umbrella Corporation.

Jill Valentine and Barry Burton were hiding in the driver and passenger seats, while HUNK and Chris Redfield emerged from under the vehicle. Jill was working on hotwiring the car, while Barry kept a lookout.

"Looks like Vector has it in for you, Redfield," HUNK said.

"How so?"

"He's a lot like me - he looks down on those he sees as inferior," HUNK explained. "But my guess is that he must have found out about your past exploits and wants to face you himself. In other words, you are a marked man."

"Gee. I'm so honored," Chris replied with sarcasm in his voice.

"Don't be honored. He's a specialist in stealth tactics and knife fighting. I should know because I was the one who trained him."

"Looks like I'm gonna have to disappoint him," Chris said. "I'll kill him later on."

* * *

Inside the villa, Beltway, Specter and Vector found the bodies of Christine Henri and her bodyguard. Specter reported in. "Lupo...Director Henri and her bodyguard KIA."

"And the others?" Lupo demanded through the headset.

"They're not here," Vector replied. "Beltway and I swept through the place. No sign of them."

"They can't be far. Fan out and find them," the Wolfpack commander ordered.

The words were not out of her mouth when they heard the Hummer's engines roar to life. Specter's eyes went wide, as did Beltway's. Vector was slightly amused.

"The Humvee!" Beltway shouted as the three men charged out of the house, just in time to see the Humvee scream out of the driveway. Specter leveled the sniper rifle and had it aimed at the driver's window...

...and was forced to take cover from HUNK's submachine gun as he fired off a burst. Vector had a knife in one hand and after identifying Chris, he let it fly...

...only to watch as it was blasted in two from Chris' handgun. The three men took off on foot, while Specter notified Lupo of the Hummer heading down the road. "Lupo. Contact made with the targets. They are en route in your direction. E.T.A., less than two minutes."

"Copy that," Lupo's voice replied.

Vector, on the other hand, walked over to the now-destroyed knife and picked up the handle. "Impressive," he whispered. "I will enjoy killing him when the time comes."

* * *

Inside the Humvee, Jill was behind the wheel. Barry was riding shotgun. HUNK and Chris were in the flatbed area of the Humvee.

"So that was the Wolfpack?" Chris asked.

"Half of them," HUNK replied. "Lupo and the others must be nearby. We're not out of the woods just yet. Head for the R and D offices in Loire Village."

"Got it," Jill replied as she sped the vehicle up.

Sure enough, the impromptu roadblock consisting of Lupo, Bertha and Four-Eyes came into view.

"Floor it!" Barry shouted.

Jill's booted foot slammed down on the gas pedal.

Lupo, Four-Eyes and Bertha raised their assault rifles and opened fire on the Humvee. The bullets did nothing against the armored vehicles and bulletproof glass. Not even Lupo's enhanced ammo had no effect. Chris, Barry and HUNK returned fire, forcing the three women to dive to the side as the Humvee sped past. HUNK putting several rounds in the first car's tires while Chris did the same to the second car's engine block, rendering the vehicles inoperable.

Lupo, Four-Eyes and Bertha scrambled to their feet and prepared to pursue HUNK and the three S.T.A.R.S. members. Only to find that their vans were now inoperable, literally dead weight.

Bertha let loose a string of curse words in German while kicking the side of the first van. Lupo and Four-Eyes exchanged glances. "Looks like you will get to use your toys," the Wolfpack commander said.

Four-Eyes nodded as she walked to the first van, while Bertha and Lupo moved to the second. Throwing the doors open to the first van, Four-Eyes was greeted with the sight of four of Umbrella's most fearsome bio-weapons.

Five Hunter Alphas, seated in the cargo area of the van.

Bertha and Lupo had opened the second van's rear doors revealing an impromptu kennel.

A kennel which contained four Cerberus dogs.

Unlike the Dobermans used both by Umbrella and their R.P.D. counterparts, Four-Eyes used Belgian Malinois, a dog that is becoming very popular in law enforcement for its detection, police work, as well as search-and-rescue operations. But now, they were being used for a more sinister purpose.

Four-Eyes had infected four of the Belgian Malinois with the T-virus and transformed them into the next-gen Cerberi. As with their predecessors, they shared the same characteristics which identified them as Cerberi: the fact that they still had much of their former agility, as well as an increase in aggression and durability. They were also missing patches of their once-beautiful skin, exposing sinew and muscle, their eyes now solid white, and one of them even had part of its ribcage exposed.

Four-Eyes used her wrist-mounted mini-laptop to activate the bioweapons. Then she gave them their marching orders.

Eliminate the S.T.A.R.S. members and HUNK.

* * *

Inside the Humvee...

The Humvee had an open back, allowing Chris and HUNK to converse with Jill and Barry. Jill continued to speed down thr road, until she turned onto the main back road.

"Jill, head down this road for about seven kilometers, then turn left at the fork in the road," HUNK ordered. "That will take us to the Umbrella facility at Loire Village."

Jill nodded. "Okay."

"You think Lupo and the others know where we are headed?" Chris asked.

"It's a possibility," HUNK replied. "Which is why we need to make this trip to the R and D offices quick and fast. Henri never took her work home with her. She always kept it at the office. We need to get her hard drive files from the main computer room. Security is lax at the facility, so we should have no problem in gaining access. But I'm not one to take and chances."

"Anything we need to know about the Loire Facility?" Barry asked.

"It's where the Nemesis T-Type was developed at," HUNK replied. He took notice of Jill stiffening slightly at that revelation. "Henri was also the one responsible for sending it to Raccoon City during the outbreak. But the T-type was unstable and killed just about anything in its path. Spencer was pretty pissed when he found out that Henri overstepped her authority. Aside from that, Henri told me that she kept detailed files on Umbrella's viruses, and the movers and shakers within the GPC."

"Leverage, just in case Spencer tried to screw Henri over," Jill replied. "And your ticket for immunity from prosecution."

HUNK grinned, despite the others not being able to see through his mask. "Oh, the immunity was already in my deal. I kind of see this as giving Umbrella a big middle finger. One thing about using soldiers to do one's dirty work is to make sure that they don't come back to slit your throat should one try and betray you."

"That's pretty much true," Chris replied.

Then the bio-weapons came. Jill and Barry saw them through the rear-view mirrors.

A pack of Cerberi and five Hunters.

"Holy fuck," Jill cursed.

HUNK pulled out his TMP. "Keep driving! Chris and I will handle this!"

Jill nodded and made the truck go faster. HUNK pulled out his G36C and flipped the safety off.

"Hunters. I really hate Hunters," Chris muttered.

"On that, I agree with you," HUNK replied. "Bunch of mutated bastards anyway. Then again, the Lickers back in Raccoon City were a lot worse."

Chris shuddered at the memory of those monsters. While searching the laboratory at Caliban Cove, both he and Jill had ran into those monsters who looked like they had been on the receiving end of a rocket. If he hated Hunters, then Lickers were a close second.

Barry unholstered his Raging Bull and handed it to Chris, along with two spare speed loaders. "Here! Use this!" he shouted.

"Thanks!" Chris shouted back. To HUNK, he said, "Deal with the dogs! I got the Hunters!"

"Got it," HUNK replied as he took aim.

As the first Hunter got closer, Chris took aim with the powerful Magnum and fired. The first shot caught the first Hunter in the shoulder, but it did slow it down slightly. Chris adjusted his aim and fired again, this time aiming for the head of the injured Hunter.

Part of the Hunter's head literally exploded, showering bits of brain, blood and gore onto the Hunter that was behind it. As it collapsed onto the asphalt, the second Hunter hopped over the body and continued to give chase, as did the several zombified dogs...

...or, at least one of them tried to do, as HUNK shot the first Cerberus out of the air, the mutated mutt letting out a death yelp as it crashed to the ground.

One of the zombie dog sgot close enough to make a leap to the back to the truck...

...only to be kicked off by Chris, and like its counterpart, had its head shot off by HUNK.

'Two down,' HUNK thought.

Chris, in the meantime, had fired three shots into a second Hunter, striking its center mass, demolishing its heart. It fell to the ground in a heap.

At the same time, HUNK had brutally put down the remaining Cerberi and turned to assist Chris in destroying the remaining Hunters. Reloading his TMP, HUNK let loose a burst from his submachine gun, catching the Hunter in its chest.

"Go for the head!" Chris shouted, before taking aim at the third Hunter with the Raging Bull and fired. The heavy magnum slug tore a massive hole in the Hunter's head before it crashed to the ground. The other two Hunters leapt over the body of its dead counterpart and continued the chase.

HUNK rested the TMP's laser target on the first Hunter's head and fired. The first rounds caused the Hunter's eye to explode, while the other caved in its brain case. With a death screech, it fell to the ground.

Four Hunters down, one Hunter remaining.

And the last one was gaining. It was close enough for Chris and HUNK to see the bloodlust in its eyes and the foam from its mouth. But before HUNK and Chris could draw a bead on it,the Hunter leapt into the air...

...and Jill, who had been watching the last Hunter from her side mirror, hit the brakes, sending both Chris and HUNK to the far end of the Humvee in a heap. But more importantly, the Hunter had missed its mark, sailing over the Humvee.

Jill then released the brakes and stomped on the gas pedal once the Hunter was in her sights, the reptilian-esque bio-weapon bathed in the lights of the Humvee.

**THUD.**

The Humvee struck the Hunter, turning the bio-weapon into an impromptu speed hump. The end result was a broken and bloodied Hunter left on the ground.

"Suicide by Valentine," Jill snickered as she made the turn, heading for Loire Village.

Once the stars were out of Chris and HUNK's head, the latter removed his gas mask and helmet. "You know your wife's crazy, right?" HUNK asked.

Chris shrugged his shoulders. "It's one of her more endearing qualities," he replied. "Besides, she's like that only behind the wheel."

* * *

Minutes later...

The Wolfpack stood around the mortally wounded Hunter that Jill had ran over. After searching around Henri's home, they found Henri's car keys and gave chase. What they found was the bodies of the four Cerberi, as well as the bodies of the four Hunters and the dying fifth. Its arms were broken, as were both legs. Its eyes dated around its skull as it tried to move, but failed.

"Now why couldn't we have someone like those three on our payroll?" Beltway mused. "We should have scouted Valentine long before the fuck-up back at the Spencer Estate."

Four-Eyes said nothing as she calmly pulled out her pistol and fired several times at the Hunter's head, putting it out of its misery.

"I can honestly say that I am very impressed with the Americans," Specter said. "It will be a shame to have to put them down."

"Never underestimate your enemy," Vector warned. "Those three survived the Spencer Mansion. Valentine herself survived Raccoon City and destroyed the T-Type. And Redfield went toe-to-toe with Wesker and lived to tell the tale."

"Indeed," Lupo seconded. She turned to Beltway, Bertha, Specter and Vector. "Police these bodies up, and get rid of these bio-weapons. I don't want no evidence that could be traced back to Umbrella."

As the others began to pile the bodies of the dogs and the Hunters, Lupo turned to Four-Eyes. "Any ideas as to where they are headed?"

"More than likely, the Loire Village's offices," Four-Eyes replied. "Director Henri kept several key files in regards to the company's viral research on her hard drives, as well as two T-003 units hidden within the facility."

"Very well," Lupo said. "We need to get a move on and retrieve those hard drives before the Americans do. What about the Tyrants hidden there?"

"I think that those three do not know, but HUNK certainly does," the Japanese-American operative replied.

In the meantime, the others had taken the bodies of the fallen bio-weapons and placed them in a pile. One thermite grenade followed by three special incendiary grenade had reduced the bodies to nothing but ash. Not even the bones remained, as Beltway's explosives had done their work.

Once that was done with, the Wolfpack gave chase to their quarry.

Trivia: See the significance in HUNK's flat number. The Japanese believe that the number four (Shi) is an unlucky number, given its connections to death.

Next Chapter: Confrontation inside the Loire Village Facility. Someone dies, but who?


	17. 15: The First Mission Final

_**Chapter Fifteen: The First Mission, Conclusion**_

Snafu's Notes: So you know that Sherry Birkin plays a major role in Resident Evil 6, and that Jake Mueller is Wesker's estranged son and also plays a big role in the game. I've been getting requests that No.6 should be added into the fanfic's storyline. I'm still heavily considering it. As for Revelations, no, I am not adding that to the story. Maybe as a reference, but officially, no.

Umbrella Loire Facility - Loire Village, France

Sneaking inside the Loire was easy enough, as the stolen ID from Henri and her bodyguard had allowed them access. The four had gained access through a side door, and through a hidden freight elevator, made their way to the hidden Umbrella storage laboratory.

For Chris, Jill and Barry, it was a strange case of deja vu, as the hidden storage laboratory was a near mirror image of the destroyed Spencer Laboratory back in what used to be Raccoon City. The only difference was that there was no holding cell, no poison gas trap inside the autopsy room, there was an escape train which led to a hidden location outside of Loire Village in place of the heliport, and the main computer room - which also doubled as the security office - was where the morgue was originally located inside the Spencer Mansion.

There was a skeleton crew managing the labs consisting of five guards and three scientists. However, the eight-man crew were found dead, and from the look of things, they had been dead for over 24 hours. Each one were killed with a bullet to the head. Aside from the dead crew and a squad of lightly-armed guards, the place was deserted.

The culprit was Christine Henri herself. From what HUNK and the three ex-S.T.A.R.S. found out from the security tapes inside her office and in the surrounding labs, Henri was reprimanded by Spencer for her actions in regards to how she was responsible for the Raccoon Outbreak.

Which led to Director Henri killing off the skeleton crew and the remaining scientists. Apparently, she had the same idea as HUNK did, which was why she had a treasure trove of data detailing Umbrella's bio-weapons program and its viral research saved on the computer's hard drives inside the computer room. Had she defected 72 hours earlier, Christine Henri would have been safe from Umbrella.

But in a twist of fate, it would be HUNK who would defect from Umbrella before she could get the chance, thus saving himself from her own fate.

'At least Henri did not unleash the T-virus,' Jill thought. 'Otherwise we would have one hell of a time trying to get in.'

The trio of heroes and one rogue Umbrella soldier were currently inside the computer room; Jill seated in front of a PC, while Chris was looking over her shoulder. Barry and HUNK were monitoring the security cameras, watching out for the Wolfpack's arrival. Access to the main laboratory was forbidden, as Henri had destroyed the card key reader shortly after killing off the staff.

Two of the monitors had a view of the main laboratory's storage room. Half the size of the one from the Spencer Mansion, but it still contained the storage units which housed the Tyrants. And inside two of the capsules, were two T-103 Tyrants.

"Chris, Jill," Barry said, "look at that."

The couple turned to the monitor, where it showed the two Tyrants in stasis. Jill recognized the bio-weapon, as she had seen several of them - including one with dual claws - shortly before her final encounter with what was the T-type.

"I've seen them before...back in Raccoon," Jill said. "Before I fought the Nemesis the final time. Looks like Umbrella has stepped up their game when it comes to Tyrants."

"Indeed," HUNK seconded. "I too have run into the Tyrants when I made my own escape from Raccoon City. What you, your husband and Barry encountered inside the Spencer Mansion was designated T-002. These are mass-produced, codenamed T-103. The higher-ups nicknamed this class of Tyrants as 'Mr. X.' Umbrella mass-produced these Tyrants. Stronger, smarter than the Prototyrant and the T-002." He pointed to the face. The genetic code used for its face was taken after Sergei Vladimir, Lord Spencer's right-hand man and Commander of the Monitor Unit. The T-Type that killed Vickers and came close to killing Lieutenant Valentine was originally a T-103 before it was injected with a NE-α organism. Both the NE-α and the NE-β organisms were created here in this laboratory."

Jill, in the meantime, had accessed the computer and using the password she had pilfered from Henri's office, breathed as sigh of relief as the password was not yet revoked following Henri's death. Following a quick scan of its contents, Jill, Chris, Barry and HUNK saw that the files saved on the hard drive were in fact the real deal, as it detailed Umbrella viral research, as well as a list of those who were on Umbrella's payroll.

"Look, Chris!" Jill shouted, pointing to the screen.

Chris turned to the screen. Barry and HUNK did the same.

Chris grinned. "Jackpot."

Henri had copies of the files that they had found inside the Spencer Mansion. Files she had scanned, copied and saved onto the hard drive. Giddy with delight that the missing files had been found, Jill reached into her pouch and retrieved two specialized flash drives. Both were prototypes designed by the U.S. Air Force, state-of-the-art, shock and impact-resistant, and was capable of holding over 10 gigabytes each.

Inserting them into the two USB ports, Jill began to download the files onto the flash drives, as well as the footage of Director Henri executing the workers. It would take at least five minutes for the downloading to complete.

In the meantime, Jill was looking over some Umbrella documents. More importantly, the files regarding the creation of the Tyrants.

"Chris, what is this?" Jill asked, pointing to the screen, while HUNK and Barry kept a close eye on the security cameras. "Beta Hetero..."

"Beta Hetero Nonserotonin," Chris finished for her.

"What is it?"

Chris racked his brains for a moment. "It's a a special hormone secreted by the human brain during puberty."

"It's also the prime ingredient for use in creating the Mass-Produced Tyrants," HUNK said from his place at the security cameras.

"Remember the Sheena Island Incident which took place nearly a month after Raccoon was destroyed?"

"You told me bits and pieces about it," Jill replied. "That was the Umbrella-owned island off the European coast, right?"

Chris nodded. "Sheena Island was where the T-103s were mass-produced."

"It was also run by Commander Vincent Goldman," HUNK continued. "Real cold bastard who was more than willing to kill his own colleagues in order to advance through the ranks. That was how he was able to ascend to the post of Commander of Sheena Island."

"So what does this have to do with with Beta Hetero Nonserotonin?" Jill asked.

"I got to know Leon a bit better while you were away at OCS. After Raccoon got nuked off the map, Leon told me that he had a friend who was a private detective. His name was Ark Thompson. He asked Ark to investigate Commander Goldman and the Tyrant facility," Chris replied. "He tried to infiltrate the island by posing as Commander Goldman, but Goldman found out and released the T-virus on the island in retaliation. Ark found documents which details the creation of the Tyrants, and how the hormone plays into the creation."

"Goldman took me in his confidence and told me what he did," HUNK continued. "It was shortly before I had to accompany a shipment to Rockfort Island that he bragged to me that he killed 30 prisoners - all teenagers who tried to escape from the island's prison. The only way that Beta Hetero Nonserotonin is extracted is by instilling deep-seated fear and alarm in the teenager. Goldman had kidnapped teenagers from third-world countries and places where they would not be missed and brought them to the island. His method of getting the hormones was simple, but brutal: by operating on the children without any type of anesthesia in order to produce more of the hormones."

Jill started to turn green. "That's horrible."

"Umbrella knew about this, but his research was to valuable to contradict him," HUNK continued. "I may not be a nice guy, but even I have morals. Goldman, on the other hand, was so evil, that not even the Devil himself could trust him."

Meanwhile, Barry noticed the arrival of The Wolfpack via the office's back entrance. The guards had given then no trouble, not after Specter left one dead with a knife in the throat.

"Um, guys...we got company," Barry said.

By that time, the downloads were complete and Jill retrieved the flash drives and secured them inside her back pouch. But before she could shut down the computer, HUNK stopped her.

"Wait." He scooted Jill out of the way and punched in several keys. Seconds later, a new window popped up, showing the conditions of both Tyrants.

"What are you doing?" Jill asked.

"Insurance policy," HUNK replied as he typed in several commands. "The Wolfpack has more firepower than the four of us combined..."

Chris immediately knew what HUNK had planned. "You're going to unleash the Tyrants on the Wolfpack to cover our escape."

"One of them," Mr. Death replied. "The second I will send to the power room to wreck the generators to the point that the failsafe will kick in."

"Does this 'failsafe' goes boom?" Barry asked.

"Very much so," HUNK replied. "A specialized thermobaric bomb designed not only to destroy the labs here, but also cause the Loire offices to collapse onto itself, thus wiping away any and all traces of Umbrella's illegal activities here."

"How long is the delay?" Chris asked.

"Fifteen minutes. More than enough time for us to escape." HUNK cocked his head to the side. "You got something planned, do you?"

"Divide and conquer," Chris replied. "If the Tyrant makes contact with the Wolfpack, more than likely, Lupo would probably go on ahead while the others distract the Tyrant in an attempt to buy her some time to track us down. If she's smart as you got her pegged, then she would have someone backing her up."

"You sure about that?" HUNK asked.

"I would," Chris replied. "You and Barry get to the Humvee and get it started. Jill and I will deal with Lupo."

* * *

Inside the main stasis chambers, the powerful sedatives that kept the two Mr. X units under control ceased as its orders came through. The first Tyrant was to head topside to combat the Wolfpack, while the second would head for the laboratory's power room and cause the lab's self-destruct mechanisms to kick in.

Before the tubes could open and release the T-103s, they simply tore through the stasis tubes and stepped out. Dripping stasis fluid, the bald, white-eyed, eight-foot humanoid bioweapons looked around for a moment, taking notice of the bodies that littered the floor, before their orders finally kicked in.

The two T-103s then smashed their way through the steel doors and stomped down the corridor. One smashed its way through a door leading to a set of stairs, while the second made its way deeper down the lab's corridors, heading for the power room.

* * *

Inside the Loire Facility,

Aside from the run-in with a squad of guards who saw that discretion was the better part of valor, the Wolfpack found the place empty. Something was definitely not right. Lupo could feel it in her bones.

'Could I be wrong?' she wondered. 'Could HUNK and the Americans already be on their way out of the country and that coming here was a feint?'

**THUMP. THUMP. THUMP. THUMP.**

Heavy footfalls echoed throughout the corridor as a sense of dread crept on Lupo's spine. Slowly, she raised her assault rifle, praying that whatever was storming down the corridor in their direction was not what she thought it was. Her teammates followed suit, raising their own weapons.

Lupo's hopes were dashed as the trenchcoat-wearing monstrosity that was Mr. X emerged from around the corner and strode forward, his human-sized hands balled into fists, soulless white eyes looking down at the six targets. Lupo and the others had seen the T-103 in action back in Raccoon City. It had crushed the walking dead, Special Forces, and even fought the Nemesis to a standoff before the two B.O.W.'s separated and went about on their respective assignments.

It was also through a T-103 that delayed them long enough for Leon Kennedy to escape from being killed at their hands, as it was coming after them instead, allowing him to duck inside the police station.

Lupo opened fire. The others followed suit. Rounds from various assault rifles and handguns tore into the massive Tyrant, but the bioweapon continued its advance undaunted.

"Fall back!" Lupo shouted, as the corridor had given them a serious disadvantage. Her rifle clicked empty. Reacting automatically, she ejected the spent clip and had a fresh one loaded within seconds, taking note that she was down to her last clip.

"Boss! Go! We'll cover you!" Beltway shouted. "Find HUNK and the S.T.A.R.S.! Make sure they don't escape!"

Lupo nodded. "Four-Eyes! On me!" she shouted as she rolled under the Tyrant's overhead punch, which smashed through a wall with bone-pulverizing force. Lupo and the Wolfpack know first hand just how deadly a physical attack from a Tyrant can be.

* * *

Meanwhile...

Gunfire echoed throughout the hall as the three S.T.A.R.S. and Mr. Death exited Henri's office. Pinpointing the location of the gunfire, HUNK deduced that the way leading to their escape vehicle was clear. Both he and Barry had split off from Chris and Jill, who headed off in a seperate direction to intercept Lupo and whoever she was with.

As Jill found out, Chris turned out to be right as to how the Wolfpack had conducted its battle strategy, since they both saw Lupo and Four-Eyes at the far end of the hall when they peeked around the corner, backs turned.

"You never cease to amaze me, Redfield," Jill whispered. "Divide and conquer indeed."

"Ready?" Chris asked.

Jill nodded as she cracked her knuckles. "Hell, Umbrella and the Wolfpack want me so bad, might as well leave an impression on them," she said as she stepped into the corridor.

Then she broke into a full sprint.

Four-Eyes and Lupo heard someone approaching from behind and turned around...

...and Four-Eyes ducked as Jill sailed past her, having jumped into the air.

Jill's booted foot caught Lupo square in the chest, causing her to drop her assault rifle. The blow had launched Lupo into the air, allowing Jill to kick her to the ground, the force of the blow stunning Lupo as she struck the ground. Jill, having kicked herself off of Lupo, somersaulted, as Four-Eyes fired on her with her sidearm, missing as she landed on the ground.

The former thief spun on one heel, kicking the gun out of the Japanese-American scientist's hand, which was followed by a vicious leg scissors takedown which sent her crashing into a wall and out cold.

By that time, Lupo had recovered and had drew her sidearm. Jill's head snapped up, and Lupo saw that her eyes showed nothing but primal instinct, combined with the ruthless effectiveness of a soldier. Had they been on the same side, Lupo would have approved. She would have been right at home with the Wolfpack.

Jill closed the distance just as Lupo raised the pistol, ejecting the spent clip and slapping in a fresh one.

Before Lupo could get a shot off, Jill sidestepped out of the line of fire. Her mind went back to her first training session with Chris back in Raccoon as she performed the move he had taught her on Lupo.

_"First thing you do is sidestep out of the way. Right hand on my gun hand, push it downward and hold. That will neutralize my line of fire. Then take your left hand and twist my left arm around my right elbow, that'll break the hold on my gun hand. Left hand on my throat."_

Lupo found her arms immobilized, and her air being cut off with Jill's hand on her throat.

**CLICK.**

Jill felt the barrel of a gun pressed up against her temple. Vector – having shadowed Lupo and Four-Eyes – has arrived.

But so did Chris, as Vector had found out when Jill's husband had tackled him, sending the both of them crashing through a set of double doors labeled **CONFERENCE ROOM**, leaving the Raccoon survivor to fight the Wolfpack commander. Following through what she had done to Chris back in Raccoon City, she kicked Lupo in the back of her head and delivered an even harder palm strike to her sternum, forcing her back.

Lupo in the meantime, had mentally swore in French. She was taught never to underestimate her enemy, and that was her first mistake. Apparently, Jill Valentine was more resourceful than she had originally thought. The French commando shook off the attack and faced down her opponent.

The fight was on.

* * *

Meanwhile, Chris and Vector had landed in a heap following Chris tackling the Japanese soldier through the double doors. Specter went for his gun, but Chris kicked it out of his hands, which was followed by a Rolling Sobat which connected to Vector's masked head, knocking the man back.

Chris hopped onto the conference room's long table and reached behind his back. His hand gripping the handle of the machete which was strapped to his vest from the back, Chris drew his weapon and held it in a reverse grip.

Vector saw the challenge and accepted it. Pulling out his own knife, he hopped onto the table, and a vicious knife fight ensued.

* * *

Outside, the Wolfpack Commander and the ex-thief were still fighting.

Lupo had gotten over her shock and was fighting back, matching Jill blow for blow. Her face mask was knocked off, and Lupo was sporting some fresh bruises, as did Jill.

In the back of her mind, Jill was very thankful for the extra training that Chris had put her through while back in Raccoon City. Aside from his training, she also had her Army training to fall back on, as well as her agility honed from being a thief and as a cop.

Gunfire echoed throughout the hall, as Bertha, Beltway and Vector continued to fire on the Mr. X unit. Four-Eyes was still out cold.

Ducking under Lupo's punch, Jill punched Lupo twice in the torso, which was followed by an uppercut to the chin and an overhead elbow. Lupo responded with a right cross followed by a roundhouse kick to the face.

This was turning into a drag-down, bare knuckle brawl.

Lupo grabbed Jill from behind, only to get a vertical axe kick to the face, forcing Lupo to let her go.

As Lupo was stunned from the blow, Four-Eyes, now recovered, tried to sneak attack Jill from behind...

...but was most surprised when without turning around, Jill's hand lashed out and caught the U.S.S. Operative by the throat with brute strength.

Jill turned to Four-Eyes and slammed her head into hers, knocking her back down before turning back to Lupo.

Before the fight could resume, HUNK's voice crackled on her earpiece.

"Valentine. Redfield. Time to go."

Jill mentally breathed out a sigh of relief. HUNK and Barry had made it to the Humvee.

* * *

Inside the conference room, Chris and Specter had locked blades. Both men had to grudgingly agree that their opponent was indeed worth the challenge, as they had been fighting for over five minutes without neither person gaining an advantage over the other.

Like Lupo, Chris had knocked off Vector's gas mask, which was now discarded on the floor. Vector could have used his stealth and made a silent kill, but had long since decided against it, as he saw Chris as a worthy opponent and wanted to savor the satisfaction of killing Chris without being so sneaky about it.

Not to say that Chris had gotten out unscathed. He sported several cuts on his arms, as did Vector. In the brawl, Chris' earpiece had gotten knocked out of his ear, which explained why he heard Jill shout out, "Redfield! Last call!"

Chris knew that HUNK and Barry had made it to the Humvee and shouted back, "Buy me a round!"

One knee to the groin sent Vector sinking to his knees, followed by a second knee to the chin, knocking him on his ass. Before Specter could resume his attack, Chris had picked up his handgun and fired the clip at Vector, forcing the knife-wielding assassin to take cover.

By the time the firing stopped, Specter looked up and saw that Chris was gone.

"Damn it all!" Vector shouted slamming one fist onto the table. Retrieving his mask, he placed it back on his face and rushed out of the conference room. Outside, Bertha and Specter had rejoined the group, having depleted nearly all of their ammo while fighting the Tyrant, while Beltway pursued Chris and Jill. Four-Eyes had regained consciousness and Bertha was checking out Four-Eyes and Lupo.

Suddenly, the building began to shake violently as an explosion from within its hidden laboratory rocked the building to its foundations.

Then the announcement came.

"_Attention. Autodestruction séquence a été activé. Cette séquence ne peut pas être interrompu. Tous les employés d'évacuer à distance de sécurité minimale. Répétition: Self-Destruct séquence activée. Cette séquence ne peut pas être interrompu. Dix minutes avant la fin jusqu'à ce que la détonation_." (Attention. Self-destruct sequence has been activated. This sequence cannot be aborted. All employees evacuate to minimal safe distance. Repeat: Self-destruct sequence activated. This sequence cannot be aborted. Ten minutes remain until detonation.)

Realization came across Lupo's face as she saw what HUNK had done. Soon, Four-Eyes' expression matched that of her superior officer.

"HUNK must have came for the data stored here," Four-Eyes said. "Then he must have unleashed the T-103 and triggered the place to blow."

"There is nothing we can do here," Lupo said. "Where's Beltway?"

"In pursuit," Vector replied. "He's heading for the cargo entrance!"

"Okay, Wolfpack! Move out!"

* * *

HUNK and Barry had gotten the Humvee ready and were waiting for Chris and Jill to arrive. Fortunately, they didn't have to wait very long, as the couple came running through the cargo doors.

Chris got in first, and helped Jill into the back, just as Beltway came charging through. Brandishing his gun, he raised it and fired.

Jill saw Chris fall, clutching his shoulder. All of a sudden, the rage returned. She hadn't felt it since foiling the failed robbery back at Raccoon National. She drew out her USP and opened fire.

The nine-millimeter parabellum rounds did little to stop Beltway as he turned his gun on her. Then he watched as Jill adjusted his aim and his eyes widened as to what she was aiming.

The last grenade on his bandolier.

**BANG!**

The bullet met its mark.

**BOOM!**

Beltway almost felt nothing as the grenade detonated, sending shards of Beltway's body armor through his body, not to mention the force of the blast threw him back.

At the same time...

**BOOM!**

Lupo and the rest of the Wolfpack heard the explosion and as they rounded the corner, they came across Beltway's smoking, bleeding body. Lupo turned to the door, and saw the Humvee drive off, with Jill holstering her weapon. It didn't take long for Lupo to put two and two together.

Jill had done this to Beltway.

Almost immediately, Vector, Specter, Four-Eyes and Bertha picked up their wounded comrade and carried him outside.

Once they were clear of the building's blast radius, they set the demolitions expert down.

"It's only a scratch," Beltway grunted as he tried to keep his insides from coming outside. "I can wing it, Boss. I can...wing...it."

Bertha looked at Beltway's wounds. Then she turned to Lupo and shook her head. There was too much damage done when the grenade detonated. Either he would die from blood loss or from the trauma from the grenade blast. Either way, Beltway's fate was sealed.

Lupo crouched down and removed Beltway's helmet and mask from his face. Gently taking his hand into hers, Lupo spoke to him softly in French.

"Shh ... reste maintenant. Il sera bientôt terminé. Vous avez fait votre devoir. Reste maintenant." (Shh...rest now. It will be over soon. You have done your duty. Rest now.)

Lupo was still whispering to Beltway when his body seized up, then relaxed as he breathed in his last breath, his grip went slack in her hand.

Lupo released Beltway's hand and closed his eyes. Then she retrieved his dogtags. The other four members watched this scene with mixed emotions on their faces...if their masks were not in the way. Behind them, the Loire Village office of Umbrella Incorporated collapsed onto itself, the ground vibrating slightly from the explosions, following the countdown of the self-destruct sequence.

But the Wolfpack did not notice. One of their own was dead. And more importantly, the mission was a failure. Another Umbrella facility was destroyed and HUNK managed to escape with the help of Redfield, Valentine and Burton.

* * *

Meanwhile...

"Is he okay?" Barry asked, frantic as Jill checked her husband. HUNK was behind the wheel.

"I'm good," Chris grunted as he sat up and removed the vest. He looked at where the round had made impact, and saw that the combat vest – which he had lined with kevlar – had done its job in keeping him alive. "Stings like shit."

Jill breathed out a sigh of relief. Despite the close calls, the mission was accomplished and both her and her husband was still alive. The Anti-Umbrella forces have struck a major blow, and The Wolfpack had lost one of their own, but the war was just beginning.

All that mattered now was to return home.

Snafu's Notes: Recognized the action sequence with Jill, Lupo and Four-Eyes? It's the same as in Resident Evil 5 when Evil Jill and Wesker manhandles Chris and Sheva.

Next Chapter: The Consortium's inquiry on Raccoon City begins. Chris and Jill get a new house guest. Claire decides what she wants to do with her life. The Anti-Umbrella forces gets several new allies to join the war.


	18. 16: Down Time

_**Chapter Sixteen: Down Time**_

Returning home with their prized witness (and for Barry, the Raging Bull as promised by Melanie), Graham had given the three heroes time to rest and recuperate. HUNK, in the meantime, was questioned by the U.S. Government in regards to Umbrella's viral and bioweapons programs. As promised, he was given immunity from prosecution and was assigned to the Anti-Umbrella forces under Graham.

The evidence that they had pilfered from the destroyed Loire Village facility had been a crushing blow to Umbrella, but the conglomerate remained strong. It would take a lot more than that to destroy Umbrella. Chris and Jill knew that Umbrella had their hooks in real deep and it would be months, if not years before Umbrella would fall.

* * *

One week after the mission into France...

With no missions on the board, Chris, Jill and HUNK were in the workout room alongside Barry and Colonel Graham. HUNK and Jill were sparring on the mat, Barry was working the weights, and Graham was watching Jill fight HUNK alongside Chris. Chris and Graham had fought earlier, and for an older man, he still could beat Chris six falls out of ten.

"You taught her well," Graham noted. "Being a teacher suits you."

"You rubbed off on me, sir," Chris admitted. "Jill was the second person I taught how to survive. Claire was the first."

"And because of your training, they survived Raccoon City," Graham noted.

Chris nodded as he watched Jill move in for the kill. Ducking under HUNK's punch, she elbowed him in the torso, knocking the air out of his lungs, before grabbing his wrist and followed through with the hand-less somersault takedown which Chris had dubbed the 'Valentine Special.'

HUNK found himself face down, arm wrenched behind his back and Jill's knee pressed against his neck. Chris winced in sympathy. During his time as a member of the Raccoon Police Department, he found himself pinned by that same move a couple of times following their first match.

HUNK quickly tapped out, and Jill released him. The former Umbrella stormtrooper accepted Jill's hand and allowed her to help him to her feet. Ever since the mission into France, HUNK had to admit that Jill and Chris especially had earned his respect. He had seen and even read the reports in regards to 'Project Valentine,' and knew that she was tough, given how she survived the Spencer Mansion and Raccoon City.

"Most impressive, Lieutenant," Graham complimented.

"Wouldn't say that, sir," Jill admitted. "HUNK kept me on my toes, and there were plenty of tight spots in the match. It was a hard-fought victory."

HUNK rubbed the back of his sore neck. "At least she is modest about it," he mumbled. "If you want, I can teach you and Chris some stealth techniques. Umbrella won't expect someone the likes of you to master the art of the stealth kill."

"The idea does have merit," Chris replied. "We'll get back to you on that."

HUNK nodded and took his leave. As he was heading for the locker rooms to clean up, a woman entered the fitness center. A redhead, late twenties, dressed like a businesswoman. In one hand, was a briefcase. The woman looked around, before she found who she was looking for: Roland Graham.

The woman walked over to Graham and his two subordinates. "Can I help you?" Graham asked, looking at the woman with what amount to suspicion.

The woman spoke with a clear Harvard accent. "Colonel Roland Graham?" she asked.

Graham nodded.

"I'm looking for two of your subordinates. Captain Christopher Redfield and Lieutenant Jillianne Valentine."

Jill frowned upon hearing her full name spoken like that.

Graham jerked one thumb in their direction. "You found them," he replied. "And you are?"

"Oh, sorry about that. Sylvia Montgomery, public relations officer for the Global Pharmaceutical Consortium." She then turned to Chris and Jill. After sizing them up, she remarked, "You two are not what I entirely expected from someone who survived Umbrella's bioweapons."

"We get that a lot," Chris replied mildly. "So what does the G.P.C. want with us?"

"As you probably know, the American Government and the Consortium are spearheading an investigation into the incident in Raccoon City, as well as the incidents at the Spencer Estate and the Umbrella Training Facility."

"Yeah, the Raccoon City Biohazard Commission," Jill said. "Chris and I were talking about that earlier. What does this have to do with us?"

"Well, Lieutenant, seeing as how your husband, Mr. Burton, Lieutenant Chambers and yourself are the remaining surviving members of the R.P.D. S.T.A.R.S. Unit..." she paused for a moment to retrieve several summons. "...not to mention that you have firsthand knowledge on Umbrella's bioweapons, you are hereby summoned to the hearings. No need to worry, no one from Umbrella will attend this meeting. No press. This is behind closed doors."

She handed the subpoenas to Graham before turning to Chris and Jill. "The meeting are inside the Capitol, one week from now, at 10:00. a.m. We also got some Special Forces survivors who survived Raccoon City also attending. Who knows, you might trade stories and the like." Her expression then grew serious. "Whether you like it or not, you people are unofficially the chief authority in Umbrella's bioweapons program. We need to know what we are dealing with so that the Consortium and the world's governments can take the necessary action needed in regards to Umbrella."

"I'll make sure that they will be there," Graham said.

After Sylvia had taken her leave, Graham handed over the subpoenas to Chris and Jill. Chris and Jill inspected the ones with their names on it.

Graham then snapped his fingers. "I almost forgot. I got a call from my contacts. The girl that Claire asked about - the Birkin girl - has been found. She's safe and healthy."

Chris nodded. "Claire will be pleased to find that out."

"Of course Claire can't legally adopt her..." Graham began.

"...but we can," Jill finished.

"So you two agree to this? You will take the girl as your ward?" Graham asked.

"Jill, Claire and I talked about this," Chris replied. "And it's the best course of action. I know how it feels to be put through the system. It was only dumb luck that I was able to get Claire as my ward when our parents died."

"No. You just know how to exploit the system," Graham deadpanned.

"That too, sir. I'll tell Claire. When can we expect Sherry?"

"She will arrive tomorrow."

* * *

Redfield Home, Andrews Air Force Base.

A day had passed since Chris got word about Sherry's whereabouts. Upon hearing the news from her brother, Claire had been on edge, something that was very unusual for the younger sister of Chris Redfield. The last time she was on edge was shortly before she ventured into Raccoon City.

Leon had also been notified, and was at the moment, trying to calm his girlfriend down as she paced the driveway. Watching the couple, were Chris and Jill. Following a day working at the Office of Special Investigations, Chris and Jill received word that Sherry had arrived in D.C., and that she would be personally escorted to their home on Andrews.

Chris was very thorough when it came to his safety, as well as his wife's as well as his sister's. With the Wolfpack hunting for them and Wesker doing God knows what, Chris was not taking any chances. The house they lived in on Andrews was in his mother's maiden name. Since Umbrella only knew that his mother had taken his father's surname when she married him and that her original records were back in Denmark, they were safe. Their personal files had been retrieved on Graham's orders following Raccoon's destruction from the archives' offices in Denver, making things hard for Umbrella if they tried to track them down.

The last time Claire had seen Sherry, was back in Raccoon City, where both herself and Leon had parted under less than friendly terms, leaving Sherry in his care as she continued her search for Chris. Now, they had reconciled following their reunion back in Sydney.

A government car pulled up to the driveway - a four-door sedan, dark blue, complete with U.S. Government license plates. The vehicle came to a halt. From the driver's side stepped out a Air Force judge advocate, the military equivalent of a civilian-level lawyer, while a representative from the state's social services office came out of the passenger side.

But more importantly, out of the back seat, stepped out a twelve-year-old girl wearing a simple T-shirt, pants and shoes. The red vest that was given to her was also on her back.

Claire recognized her immediately. "Sherry!"

Sherry recognized her as well. "Claire!"

The preteen nearly knocked Claire over as she embraced the older woman in a bear hug. Claire returned the hug in earnest.

Meanwhile, Chris and Jill were dealing with the social worker and the judge advocate.

"This is a good thing the both of you are doing," the case worker said as the judge advocate handed Chris the legal documents which made the orphaned girl their ward. "Taking in your niece under such unusual circumstances."

Chris and Jill of course, played along with the ploy. "It's the least we can do," Jill replied. "I never got along with my sister-in-law, but Sherry would be better off in a stable home rather than at an orphanage."

Of course Claire was still technically a minor at nineteen, leaving both Chris and Jill to assume the role of guardians to Sherry. Jill had her concerns in regards to letting the sole survivor of the Birkin family stay with them, but Chris was sympathetic to Sherry's plight. After all, both Chris and Claire had lost their parents at a young age, Claire herself was about Sherry's age when their parents had died.

Sherry had only a sports bag and a knapsack with her, the judge advocate having retrieved the items from the trunk of the car before both him and the case worker departed from the home.

It was at that moment, Claire remembered her brother and sister-in-law were standing behind them. Turning back to Sherry, Claire said, "Come on, Sherry, I want you to meet some people." She pointed to Chris. "This is my older brother, Chris."

Chris smiled in greeting.

"And this is his wife, Jill," Claire concluded.

"Hello," Jill greeted.

Sherry looked at the couple before hiding behind Claire's legs. Giving her brother and sister-in-law an apologetic smile, Claire said, "She's still a bit shy."

"No problem," Chris replied. "Nothing that a bowl of vanilla ice cream can't fix."

That definitely caught Sherry's attention. She poked her head out from Claire's legs. "Ice cream? Where?"

"Let's get you settled in," Chris said, as Leon picked up Sherry's bags. "Then we'll fix you a bowl."

"Okay," Sherry replied as Claire led the girl into the house, followed by Leon.

"What?" Chris said as Jill looked at him, amazed at how he was able to crack Sherry's shell. "It worked when Claire was younger."

* * *

Nighttime.

Sherry was fast asleep in Claire's room. The bedroom contained twin beds, so Sherry simply claimed one for herself.

Claire watched her sleep from the hallway. After a few moments, she left the child alone and returned to the living room, where Chris, Jill and Leon waited for her.

"She's sleeping," Claire reported as she took a seat on the love seat next to Leon.

"Good to hear," Jill said. "So what's her story?"

"Like yourself, Leon and me, Sherry's a survivor of Raccoon City," Claire explained. "She's the daughter of Umbrella scientists William and Annette Birkin."

"I met Birkin himself back in Raccoon," Chris explained. "On the day Jill and I thwarted the robbery at the bank. I left my keys inside the office and when I retrieved them, he was talking with Wesker. He even offered me a job with Umbrella because of me being a former prodigy."

"We also met Birkin back in Raccoon City," Leon said. "Only he wasn't human."

This catches Chris and Jill's attention. They both remembered HUNK mentioning that his unit was dispatched to Raccoon to steal Birkin's G-virus for the now-deceased Director Henri, only to leave him mortally wounded. Birkin then injected himself with the G-virus and hunted down HUNK's commando team. HUNK was the sole survivor, proving that nickname of his was no fluke.

Chris and Jill also knew that from Claire that it was Birkin that tried to kill both Claire and Leon. Leon reported that Ben Bertolucci, one of Alyssa Ashcroft's coworkers from the Raccoon Press, was literally gutted by Birkin himself.

"So how did you two meet Sherry?" Chris asked.

"It was back in Raccoon. Leon and I were there the same time Jill was hiding out inside the clock tower," Claire began. "She was being chased by one of the zombified cops outside the old S.T.A.R.S. Office and she ran into Leon. I guess she thought he was a zombie when she saw the uniform and ran off."

* * *

[Flashback]

_Raccoon Police Department, Raccoon City._

_'Geeze,' Leon thought as the girl got away from him. 'She's pretty fast.'_

_The door was nailed shut, so there was no way that Leon could follow her. 'Hope Claire made it to the station,' he thought as he turned from the door and walked down the corridor._

_His thoughts were answered when Claire entered the room. The Browning was tucked inside her belt. In her hands, she was holding what appeared to be a Vietnam-style grenade launcher. Slung over one shoulder was a satchel containing some ammo._

_"Hey! Leon!"_

_Leon breathed a sigh of relief. Claire was still alive. "You made it," Leon said. _

_Claire nodded. "Have you seen a little girl around here?"_

_Leon nodded. "You just missed her. Any ideas as to who she is?"_

_Claire shook her head. "No clue, but it's too dangerous for her to wander around here alone. You find us a way out of here, Leon. I'll search for the girl."_

_Leon nodded. "Okay." He then reached into his back pocket and pulled out a radio he had pilfered from one of the dead cops. "Take this radio. That way we can keep in touch if something comes up."_

_Claire accepted the radio. "Okay. Take care of yourself, Leon."_

_"You too, Claire."_

[End Flashback]

* * *

"I found Chief Irons inside his office," Claire continued. "The fucking bastard had lost his mind. He even killed Mayor Warren's daughter. I found her body sprawled across his desk inside his office. I found Sherry hiding inside Irons' private art room near his office."

[Flashback]

* * *

_Tracking down the girl was easy enough. Claire had her cornered inside one of the back rooms near Irons' office. Flipping on a light, Claire found the same girl that had given both her and Leon the slip hiding in the far corner._

_"Waahh!" the girl yelped as she attempted to run past Claire, only to have the older woman grab her wrist._

_"Wait!" Claire said, holding on to the girl's arm._

_The younger girl tried to pry her hand free, but it was no good. "Let go of me!"_

_"Calm down, kid. Easy! I'm not a zombie!" Claire said. "You're safe now."_

_When it became clear that Claire was telling the truth, the girl stopped struggling. Almost immediately, the girl wrapped her arms around Claire's waist, sobbing softly as Claire patted her head with her free hand, whispering words of comfort to the girl._

_Claire gently pried herself from the girl so that she could crouch to one knee, allowing herself to be at the girl's eye level. "I'm Claire. What's your name?"_

_"Sherry," the girl introduced herself. "Sherry Birkin."_

_"Where are your parents, Sherry?"_

_"They work at the Umbrella chemical plant outside the city," Sherry explained._

_"The chemical plant? Then why are you here?"_

_"Mom called me a couple of days ago, and said that it was too dangerous to stay at home. She told me to come to the police station where it was safe."_

_"Looks like your mother was right," Claire replied. "But it's dangerous here too. You should stick with me."_

_"But...there's something out there, Claire," Sherry said, taking several steps back. "A monster! It's coming after me! And it's larger than any of those zombies! I saw it!"_

_"What are you..." Claire began, only to be cut off by a incredibly loud, yet inhuman scream that chilled her to the very bone. "What was that?" she gasped._

_"It's the monster I was telling you about!" Sherry shouted as she ran. "It's here!"_

_"H-hey! Sherry, wait!" Claire shouted. _

_But it was no use. Sherry was out the door and gone._

[End Flashback]

* * *

"As it turned out," Leon continued, "the monster in question was her father, mutated by the G-virus."

"Sherry and I ended up separated when we escaped into the sewers," Claire said. "Birkin found his daughter and impregnated her."

"How?" Jill asked.

"I got the complete story from Annette when I was searching for Sherry down in the sewers," Claire said. "She told me what the G-virus was capable of."

* * *

[Flashback]

_Raccoon Sewer System, beneath Raccoon City._

_As soon as Claire entered the main area of the sewer system, she found herself looking down the barrel of a handgun. _

_"Oh, shit," the female Redfield muttered as she looked at the somewhat deranged blonde woman in the lab coat._

_"Well, well," Annette Birkin drawled. "Looks like I caught another Umbrella spy. You're here for the G-virus, right? Forget it. I'm not handing over my husband's life work."_

_Something then clicked inside Claire's head. she found several documents inside Irons' office in which Birkin's name was mentioned. Irons himself even verified that Birkin was Sherry's father and that he was the creator of the G-virus._

_"Husband..." Claire repeated. "So you're Annette Birkin...Sherry's mother."_

_That caught Annette's attention. "How...how do you...?"_

_Claire cut her off. "Sherry's somewhere in the sewers. You got to help me find her!"_

_"No...impossible!" Annette rebuked. "She's supposed to be at the police station! What is she doing down here? _

"_The police station was overrun," Claire replied. "It wasn't safe. Sherry and I got separated after we escaped."_

"_If William finds out she is here, then he will be after her!"_

_"William? Your husband? What does he have to do with all of this?" Claire demanded._

_"The monster that is responsible for this death and destruction is...well, was my husband, William Birkin. Umbrella sent a crack squad of special force troops to his laboratory underneath the city to steal the G-virus samples from him. Not only did they retrieve the samples as well as several samples of the T-virus, they gunned him down. He had a hidden sample of the G-virus on him. He used it on himself in order to keep himself from dying."_

_"Wait...you're telling me that he injected the G-virus into his own body?" Claire asked._

_Annette nodded. "The G-virus has the ability to not only revitalize cellular function, but to also mutate the living cells. William transformed into a monster and hunted down those Umbrella bastards who tried to kill him. In his rage, he also destroyed the case containing the viruses, including those containing the T-virus. As a result of his mutation, William should have lost all of his memories he had as a human. Even worse, every carrier has the ability to create offspring."_

_"What?"_

_"By implanting embryos into other life forms," Annette explained. "If a body with non-related genetic coding is rejected, that person will suffer an excruciating death. That is why he is after Sherry."_

_From somewhere within the sewers, the two women heard Sherry scream._

_"Oh no...Sherry!" Annette gasped._

_"We'll split up!" Claire shouted. "You go that way!" she said, pointing to the door she just came through._

[End Flashback]

* * *

"William did implant Sherry with one of his embryos," Claire explained. "Before Annette died, she managed to give me the info needed to create the vaccine for Sherry. Leon picked her up and carried her to the train while I synthesized the vaccine. Birkin, however, just didn't know how to stay down. Leon and I ran into him on several occasions, each form more stronger than the last. I thought I had killed him, but somehow he managed to get onboard the escape train, triggering its self-destruct sequence. Leon managed to do enough damage to slow him down, but he kept on coming..."

* * *

[Flashback]

_After narrowly escaping the mutated monstrosity that was William Birkin, Leon tried to open the door leading to the first car, but it was locked. "Claire! Stop the train!" he shouted._

_Claire also tried to open the door from her end, only to find that it was locked. "It's locked! The door won't open!"_

_Behind Leon, the hydraulic door slid open, and Birkin's bloblike form began to seep through, forcing Leon to climb to the roof to avoid getting killed. But several of his tentacles followed him. _

_"Fuckin' wonderful," Leon muttered as he crawled towards the front. _

_Back inside, Claire began to back from the door as Birkin's tentacles began to slam into the door. _

_Claire spun around "Sherry, get back!"_

_The sole survivor of the Birkin family nodded and ran to the opposite end of the car. Sherry let out a scream and ducked her head as her mutated father made a huge dent into the door. _

_With a roar, Birkin had knocked the door off its hinges and slowly began to push his way inside. "Now that's what I call ugly," Claire muttered. _

_Before she could ponder what had happened to Leon, she heard something clatter from behind her. Upon turning around, Claire saw that Sherry had kicked the control room's grate in and was crawling inside._

_"Sherry? What are you doing?" Claire shouted. _

_"We gotta stop the train, right?" was Sherry's reply. "I can do it!"_

_"B-but..." Claire stuttered. Remembering that Birkin was there, she turned to face the monster. Birkin's mass has already engulfed her Ingram submachine gun, leaving her with her knife. Then she looked down, and saw that she could make her own escape through the floor. Deciding that discretion was the better part of valor, Claire yanked the grate off and slid through the hole in the floor._

_Sherry, in the meantime, was looking over the control panel. "Okay...where's the right switch?"_

_A whoosh of air from above turned Sherry's head. Leon had pried open the hatch above her. "Leon!"_

_"Sherry! The switch next to the door! Push it!" the R.P.D. officer shouted._

_Sherry saw the button labeled EMERGENCY BRAKE and slammed her hand on the button. With a loud screeching sound, the transport came to a halt. Once the train had stopped, Leon had helped Sherry out of the control room, despite the pain in his shoulder. _

_Once they were on the ground, Leon checked Sherry for any injuries. "You okay?" he asked._

_"I'm fine," the girl replied. "Where's Claire?"_

_Claire made her presence known by rolling from underneath the train. "Over here."_

_"Claire!" Sherry exclaimed, happy to see the older woman alive._

_Claire got to her feet, as Leon looked at his watch. "We gotta move! We got less than 20 seconds! GO!"_

_The three survivors made a break for the tunnel exit. Sherry stumbled to the ground, but Claire and Leon quickly picked the girl up and took off yet again. They had barely cleared the entrance when..._

_**BOOM! BOOM! KA-BOOM!**_

_The three Raccoon survivors were thrown off their feet from the force of the explosions. William Birkin was finally dead, the three survivors triumphant._

_It was finally over._

[End Flashback]

* * *

"After that, we went our separate ways," Leon concluded. "It's funny. I should have died back in Raccoon."

"How so?" Jill asked.

"I was late to the job," Leon admitted. "I was supposed to have been in Raccoon City earlier that day on the 29th of September, but I overslept, having broke up with Kate the day before. Had I arrived earlier that day, I would have more than likely been killed."

"At least your ex didn't cheat on you, stole most of your cash and ran off with a plastic surgeon," Chris said. "Mine did."

"And she was in Raccoon during the outbreak," Claire said. "I ended up putting her down when I found her as a zombie."

"Why become a cop?" Jill asked.

"I grew up in a family of criminals," Leon explained. "My family was a bunch of misfits and fuck-ups, Dad especially. After losing several relatives, I wanted to make something out of myself. The last thing I was expecting was to be caught up in this whole mess."

Claire placed her hand over Leon's. "I think it's safe to say that none of us were."

* * *

The Raccoon City Commission, inside the U.S. Capitol.

The Raccoon City Commission: a joint Senate-Consortium hearing regarding the outbreak in Raccoon City, the incidents at the Spencer Mansion and the Training Facility, as well as showing the nuclear destruction of Raccoon City via satellite, with a vice admiral going through the details of the operation as it played out on a flat-screen television set, the video feed coming from a spy satellite poised above the doomed city.

As expected, the four surviving S.T.A.R.S. had came to deliver their dispositions and to answer any and all questions asked by the committee. The pilfered documents from their mission into Europe were copied and delivered to the committee the night before, with Graham and the Anti-Umbrella forces keeping the master copies.

Leaving Sherry in the care of Kathy Burton, the surviving S.T.A.R.S. faced the committee.

At a long table facing the Senate and Consortium members, Chris Redfield, Jill Valentine, Barry Burton and Rebecca Chambers sat, With the exception of Barry, Chris, Jill and Rebecca were each dressed in their formal Air Force uniforms, while Barry was dressed in a suit.

"Raccoon City, zero-six-hundred hours," the vice admiral began. "As per the orders of President Williams, a single F-14 was scrambled from Naval Air Station Fallon one hour earlier, armed with a Tomahawk cruise missile with a 7-kiloton nuclear-tipped warhead. The warhead was deployed from the F-14 at approximately zero six-nineteen. Air-burst detonation over the downtown area forty-five seconds later."

The video feed showed the missile detonating over City Hall and the Raccoon Press. Chris felt Jill's hand tighten into his as she watched the destruction of what was once their home. Behind them, Claire Redfield looked physically ill. The blast wave expanded, destroying the city and everything in its path. The Raccoon Police Department was obliterated in the blast wave. Chris and Jill also mentally pointed out key places in Raccoon that were destroyed as the firestorm expanded from the city to the forest.

The image then changed from the detonation to that of the aftermath. The anti-nuclear activists called Raccoon 'America's Hiroshima,' and in some cases, they were right. But they were not getting the entire story.

"Raccoon City, three weeks after detonation," the admiral continued. "The warhead had done its job in eradicating the outbreak and containing it. Working in tandem with the Army and Marine Corps, we sent in search-and-destroy teams, as well as conducting rescue operations for any survivors." He paused for a moment. "Upon reaching the site of the old Raccoon Police Department...we found bodies in the basement area. The people, having gone to the police station for protection in the final moments before the missile had hit, had ran out of air and suffocated from the lack of oxygen."

No one noticed Claire excusing herself from the chambers. She had to find a bathroom. Fast. Leon did, however, and took off after her.

* * *

The retching sounds coming from the womens' restroom were all that Leon needed to hear. He had found Claire. The former police officer waited for several minutes until Claire finally emerged from the restroom, looking slightly pale. Outside, Leon and Claire could hear a protest rally going on in front of the steps.

"You okay?" Leon asked.

"Ask me in an hour," Claire grumbled.

* * *

Back inside, the hearings continued. This time, Chris, Jill and Barry were giving their dispositions to the committee.

The two most senior members sitting on the side of the Consortium were Sachiko Kobayashi, chief science officer from Takara Pharmaceutical Incorporated, its headquarters being that in Kyoto, and Franklin Richards, chief operations officer for Falcon Medical Conglomerate, its headquarters was in the D.C. Area.

Sachiko was in her mid-thirties, American-educated with a degree in science. She was scouted by Umbrella, but opted to a post with Takara Inc, as it would move her back home. She had beauty and the brains to match, which made her the obvious choice for the Consortium in choosing her for the commission. She was formal and professional.

Franklin was a second-generation employee with Falcon Medical, his mother having worked there as a medical officer. A nineteen-year employee, he had worked his way up the ranks, having been recruited from university as Sachiko had been. Franklin was more laid back than Sachiko, but can get serious when the occasion called for it. He had a personal reason as to why he was chosen for this hearing, as his in-laws were in Raccoon City days before the outbreak went critical.

Franklin's in-laws were lucky. They had left the city before things had went straight to hell.

Aside from Kobayashi and Franklin, there were four others who had sat on the committee; a third member from the consortium (who was not from Umbrella), and three U.S. Senators. There were no cameras, no news reporters...save for Alyssa Ashcroft and a secretary overlooking the minutes. The audience consisted of high-ranking officers from the Department of Defense and members of the Anti-Umbrella Forces from the other branches and various intelligence agencies.

"The reason why you four are here is because you are for all matters and purposes, the first and foremost authorities in regards to Umbrella's bio-weapons program," Sachiko began. "You four are the remaining survivors of the R.P.D.'s Special Service and Tactics Service. In your case, Lieutenant Valentine, you survived not only the Spencer Mansion incident, but also the initial outbreak itself."

And thus, the deposition began. For the next two hours, Chris, Jill, Barry and Rebecca laid it all out in detail. How the T- and G-viruses worked. Umbrella's bioweapons and the corruption which had led to Raccoon's downfall. Jill kept silent about herself being Wesker and Birkin's guinea pig regarding Project Valenitne. If the Consortium or the U.S. Government found out about that or the fact she could possibly have T-virus antibodies in her bloodstream, then she could forget about seeing the light of day.

* * *

Outside the chamber doors, the four former members of S.T.A.R.S. talked amongst each other. Claire and Leon were outside, getting some fresh air.

"That went well," Rebecca said.

"As well as one would expect," Barry said.

"But the million-dollar question is now what the Consortium will do?" Jill inquired. "This damns Umbrella plenty, but Umbrella still got plenty of pull and influence to be a major pain to both the Consortium and to all of us for quite a while."

"Valentine? Specialist Valentine?"

The new voice had brought Barry's comment to a halt. Jill and the others turned to the source of the voice. It was a man, around Chris' age, with dark brown hair and matching eyes. He was not as built as Chris, but was in very good shape. He wore the officer's uniform, save that his was Army, complete with a 'Special Forces' tab on the sleeve. Like Chris, he wore the rank of Captain.

"I know that voice," Jill said as she turned around. "Captain Jettingham."

The man – now identified as Captain Crispin Jettingham – gave Jill the once-over, taking note of the single bar on her collar. "Well, can't call you Specialist anymore. And you're in Air Force blues." He held his hand over his heart in an overly dramatic manner. "You truly wound me, Valentine."

"You know this guy, Jill?" Barry asked.

Jill nodded. "He's was my former instructor back in the Army – Delta Force."

"Formerly of Delta Force," Jettingham corrected. "I'm with the Army's SPEC OPS Unit – Echo Six, an anti-Umbrella unit." He then introduced himself. "Captain Crispin Jettingham."

"Captain Chris Redfield, formerly of the Air Combat Unit, Air Force," Chris responded. He introduced Rebecca and Barry. "Lieutenant Rebecca Chambers, also of the Air Force. And this is Barry Burton."

"And formerly of the R.P.D.'s Special Tactics and Rescue Service," Jettingham added.

"So you know about that, sir?" Jill asked.

"Of course," the Army captain replied. "My unit was also in Raccoon City during the outbreak with orders to find evidence of Umbrella's misdeeds. We saw your group photo inside the S.T.A.R.S. Office when we passed through the R.P.D. And we also know about your exploits against Umbrella. It's public knowledge within the defense community. You four are pretty infamous in Umbrella's eyes. But why the Air Force, Jill? Here, I thought that you would reenlist back in the Army. We could have used someone of your talents back in the Army."

"If the Army had made me an offer, then I would have, sir," Jill replied. "Chris's former boss had beaten you to it."

Jettingham sighed. "Oh yeah. I've heard of Graham. A real hard-ass, but a good soldier. Is their any way that I can persuade you to come back to the Army?"

"It's tempting, sir, but I can't ditch my partner, who is also my husband," Jill replied.

Jettingham looked at Chris. "You married Valentine?"

Chris nodded. "Before I left Raccoon, Captain."

"In any case, congrats to the both of you," Jettingham said. "Wish you could have sent an invite, but no used crying over spilled milk. Glad to know that you survived Raccoon, Valentine."

"Thank you, Captain," Jill replied as Jettingham turned and walked away.

* * *

Redfield Home, later.

"I had some time to think about, you know, what I want to do when I graduate from college," Claire began as she, Rebecca, Leon, Barry, her brother and sister-in-law sat in the living room. "Being part of the outbreaks in Raccoon City and Rockfort Island has changed my view on...everything. And from what I've seen during the hearings..."

Claire took a moment to gather her thoughts before looking at her brother and Jill. "I'm not a fighter. Not like the both of you, Leon, nor Barry. Granted that I never thought the stuff you taught me would actually help me survive Raccoon and Rockfort Island, but being a fighter is not me."

Reaching into her back pocket, she pulled out a pamphlet and placed it on the table. "There was a group today at the hearings, conducting a protest concerning Umbrella and the previous administration's handling regarding Raccoon City. They've been around since Rockfort Island, but while you were giving your despositions to the committee, I had a talk with one of its founding members. I think I found what I am good at – being a protector, a rescuer. I showed that when I rescued Sherry from Raccoon."

Jill picked up the pamphlet. "TerraSave?"

Claire nodded. "Yeah. TerraSave was formed in December of 1998 in the aftermath of the Raccoon incident and the resignation of President Williams by a group of student activists protecting illegal medical practices and human rights violations. I like what they are saying and given my past experiences with Umbrella, I feel like I can make a change working with them."

Jill handed the pamphlet to Chris, who scanned it before turning towards Claire. "You're sure this is what you want to do? Working with an N.G.O.?"

Claire nodded.

Chris set the pamphlet down. "If that's what you want to do with your life, I sure as hell will not stop you. You're just as stubborn as Mom. You thought I would disapprove, didn't you?"

"The thought crossed my mind," Claire replied mildly. "Which is why I wanted to talk to you about it."

"Whatever you do, Claire, I will always have your back," Chris said. "Comes with the territory of being your big brother."

"Same here," Jill replied. "Feel free to come to me for anything you need."

Rebecca, Barry and Leon both nodded, showing their support for the female Redfield.

* * *

Later...

It was past midnight when Chris Redfield stumbled into the kitchen and found Leon seated at the table, deep in thought. He had originally went in for a glass of water, and found the former police officer there, brooding in deep thought. He had decided to spend the night at the Redfield home, as it past midnight.

"Something on your mind, Kennedy?" Chris asked as he poured himself a cup of water.

"I never told Claire about what had happened after she left Sherry and myself following Raccoon City," Leon replied. "Both Sherry and myself were taken into government custody after the outbreak. They released me, but kept Sherry under government supervision. One of the conditions of my release was that I work for the U.S. Government as a federal agent."

"So what's why you're in training, right?" Chris surmised.

Leon nodded. "I agreed only for Sherry's sake. I work for the Feds, they guarantee her safety."

"No need for that, as she is safe with us," Chris said. He sat down opposite Claire. "You know that I raised Claire on my own after our parents died, right?" When Leon nodded, Chris decided to continue. "My sister is very fond of you, Leon. The fact that you looked out for her in Raccoon City during the outbreak has placed you in my good graces. But I will say this once. You break my sister's heart or hurt her in any way, I'll personally see that you will wish that you did not survive Raccoon City."

Leon slowly nodded as he met Chris's gaze with his own. "If that happens, Captain, I'll hand you the gun myself."

"Glad we understand one another," Chris said as he rose from his chair and walked out of the kitchen. "Good night, Leon."

"Good night, Chris."

* * *

The following day, Graham had summoned the four ex-S.T.A.R.S. and Mr. Death to the office for a meeting. HUNK was waiting for the quintet as they pulled up in Chris's Tahoe.

"Any idea as to why Graham wanted to see us?" Chris asked as he and the other three fell in step alongside HUNK.

"You tell me," HUNK replied. "I just got the call myself."

"I think I know what Graham wants with us," Rebecca said. "He was talking about it earlier this week. Something about a meeting with other members of the Anti-Umbrella forces."

"What are they? Air Force?" Chris asked.

Rebecca shook her head. "No. Graham told me that since this is the main headquarters of the Anti-Umbrella Investigation Team, some of the teams and a couple of agents are being reassigned here."

"The reasoning is sound," HUNK noted. "This is one of the more secure bases in the States. Umbrella is not desperate enough to raid a base where they keep Air Force One under heavy guard."

Remembering what he told Jill about Adams Air Force Base, Chris tossed his a glance as if to say, "See?"

Rounding a corner, they approached the conference room, where voices were heard inside. Jill immediately recognized one of the voices as Captain Jettingham. Graham's voice was obvious. Upon opening the double doors, they saw that it was indeed Captain Jettingham and Colonel Graham chatting with one another. But the two men were not alone.

On Jettingham's side, were five other members of his squad; two men and three women. On the other side, was a blond-haired man with stubble and seated next to him, was a man, with his uniform giving him away as being part of the Marine Corps - an officer, given he was wearing the officer's blue dress uniform; a khaki shirt and necktie, blue pants with red trim and the white peaked cap with the Marine Corps insignia on the front, his head tilted so that his eyes were not visible. His rank identified him as a lieutenant.

The first man that was on Jettingham's side was the oldest of the bunch, bald with a trimmed moustache and goatee, with everything about him that screamed 'biker.' The second was a man of African ancestry, who was reading through some documents on viral research. The first woman was Native American by her appearance, with short dark hair and a neutral expression, while the blonde and the redhead were chatting with each other over the effectiveness of explosives.

"As you are guests in my neighborhood, the proper accommodations have been made not only for your team, but for Agent McGivern and Lieutenant Coen," Graham was finishing up. "Only the best in Air Force hospitality."

Chris recognized the redhead almost immediately. "Ronson? Marissa Ronson?"

The redheaded woman turned from the blond and recognized Chris. "Heh. Christopher Redfield. I heard from Mel and Evil Ed that you were back in the Air Force."

Jettingham looked on, intrigued. "You know Ronson, Redfield?" he asked.

"She's British, loves to blow shit up, and in some cases, even more crazier than Evil Ed...I mean, Captain MacPherson. Worked with the SIS, and trained alongside Captain Jackson of the Royal Air Force," Chris explained. "Both her and Captain Jackson are longtime friends, and I met Ronson though my ex. So what brings you to my neighborhood, Ronson? You're on loan from the British?"

"Actually, Captain," Jettingham interjected. "The Army has heard of Miss Ronson's...'talents' with demolitions and has acquired her services...with a couple of incentives."

"Citizenship, a commission, that sort of thing," Ronson added.

Rebecca's eyes furrowed when she heard Graham said 'Lieutenant Coen.' She turned to the Marine. "Coen? As in Lieutenant Billy Coen?"

The Marine officer turned towards Rebecca. Imagine his shock at seeing the last face he'd expected to see. Billy let out a dry chuckle as he removed his peaked cap. The hair was cut short, down to military standards. But there was no doubt. Billy Coen was here.

"Wait a sec..." the blond man said, his Texan drawl thick in his voice. "This is the Billy Coen, the convicted murderer?"

Billy turned to the blond man. "I was cleared of all charges. I was framed. Rebecca knew because I told her. Long story short, I was framed by my squad to take the fall, convicted and sentenced to die by firing squad. Then my prison escort took a detour through Raccoon City, where I met Chambers in the midst of the outbreak at the training facility. We worked together to survive that hellish night. I had a friend who worked in NCIS who helped me clear my name."

"And your rank has been restored," Jettingham noted.

"That too," Billy added. "My record was cleared and I was given the choice to return to the Corps with my rank intact. I chose to come back to the military. As to why I am here, I was transferred to the Anti-Umbrella unit here."

Graham stood up. "What you see represent but a small fraction of the total number of the Anti-Umbrella forces. We got folks from all over; Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, even the Coast Guard. And the armed forces are not just taking part in crushing Umbrella. The Justice Department has not gotten involved. The same can be said all over the world; the European countries; Israel, even China and Japan are rallying against Umbrella. The road ahead will be hard and full of trials and tribulations. You already know Captain Redfield, Lieutenants Valentine and Chambers, Mr. Burton, given their exploits against Umbrella, and HUNK, formerly of the Umbrella Security Service who had defected to our side. Introductions all around, people."

"Captain Crispin Jettingham, US Army SPEC OPS, Echo Six," Jettingham began. "This is my team. Lieutenant Ronson, you already know. Sound off, people."

The bald, tattooed biker was first. "Sergeant Erez Morris, team medic."

The blond went next. "Corporal Sienna Fowler, resident marksman and sniper."

The dark-haired woman followed suit. "Corporal Caroline Floyd, recon."

The last person to speak was the dark-skinned man, who spoke with a Zimbabwean accent. "Sergeant Lawrence Kimbala, virologist."

"Guess I'm next," the Texan said. "Name's McGivern. Bruce McGivern, US STRATCOM."

"I thought it would be productive for all of us to meet without trying to kill each other," Graham said with a hint of amusement in his voice. "Now, the reason why you are here. I sent in several requests to the other divisions and branches for assistance, which is why you are all here at Andrews. With the exception of Agent McGivern, you all have some experience in dealing with Umbrella one way or another, which makes the lot of you perfect for this job."

Graham turned to his own subordinates and HUNK. "I know that this is supposed to be your day off, but if you fill Jettingham and the others in on what you know, then you can have tomorrow off."

"Fair enough," HUNK replied.

Chris and the others also nodded their consent as they sat down at the table.

"So...where do we start off?" Jill asked.

"The incident on the train and the training facility would be a good start," Jettingham replied.

Rebecca sighed. "Better get comfortable, 'cause this is going to take a while."

The gathered group had no idea how right Rebecca was.

Snafu's Notes: Yup, you got Echo Six, Billy Coen and even Bruce McGivern from **Dead** **Aim** joining in the fray.

Next Chapter: Fast-forward one year later. A long overdue wedding ceremony takes place. The Wolfpack takes another hit. Chris and Jill take on something even more terrifying than Wesker and Umbrella...parenthood.


	19. 17: The Next Step Pt1

_**Chapter Seventeen: The Next Step, Part One**_

Snafu's Notes: Well, looky here. I'm about halfway through with the War Against Umbrella Arc. Originally, I thought about having Chris and Jill take on the Wolfpack in a pitched battle, but I decided against it. I decided that it would be more feasible for the other good guys to get their time in the limelight for killing off the Wolfpack.

Snafu's Notes, Pt.2: I've been getting some emails as to what year the Umbrella Arc is taking place. Well, since Jill had gotten her commission in the Air Force in 1999 and this chapter takes place a year later, we are in early 2000. Oh, and I decided to pay homage to one of my all-time favorite movie series in the beginning of this chapter.

Snafu's Notes, Pt.3: After careful consideration, I have decided to add Resident Evil 6 to the story. According to most sources, Jake Muller is six years younger than Sherry (In RE6, she's 26, he's 20), but for this story, he will be the same age as her. Last, I had to split this chapter into two parts. The first part will be an early birthday gift to me (I turn 30 in November).

Venice, Italy - March 1, 2000

An outdoor cafe in Saint Mark's Square. With the Grand Canal in the background, this could count as a perfect postcard image.

An image, which was wrecked when a manhole cover was removed in the midst of the dining patrons and tourists, startling them as out from the sewers, emerged a thoroughly soaked Chris Redfield.

"Gotta love Venice," he mumbled as he reached down and helped an equally-soaked and coughing Jill Valentine out of the hole.

Why were Captain Redfield and Lieutenant Valentine were in the City of Canals? They had received word from an unknown source about an Umbrella Facility built underneath the city, under the catacombs, under the famous canal itself, its hard drives containing the remaining locations of the Umbrella facilities and laboratories in Europe, Asia and Oceania. So a joint operation was ordered by Colonel Graham, with Chris and Jill working together with Captain Jettingham and Echo Six.

Unfortunately, as Chris and Jill went in first, they had walked into a trap. What the Umbrella agents did not know was that they had backup. A firefight ensued between the two parties, and despite having superior firepower, Echo Six and the two Air Force officers were about to be overrun until Ronson detonated several satchel charges. As the facility was built underwater, Chris and Jill found themselves separated from Echo Six as the facility flooded. While Jettingham and Echo Six had to take the main route through Umbrella's Venice Sales Office, Chris and Jill had to go through the catacombs in order to reach the surface.

"What is it with Umbrella and catacombs?" Jill asked, coughing out some water.

"If we capture any of them alive, we can ask them," Chris groused.

"Redfield! Valentine! Are you there? Can you hear me?" Jettingham's voice crackled through their earpieces.

"Good thing our military hardware is made of sterner stuff," Jill muttered. She then acknowledged her former boss. "Valentine here."

"Where's Redfield?" Jettingham demanded. "Did he make it out?"

"I'm fine," Chris replied.

"Thank God," Ronson's voice cut in. "Sorry about the satchel charges. Had to think of something."

"Next time...warn us," Jill sniped.

"If it's any consolation, we got the data from the hard drive," Jettingham said. "Where's your location?"

Chris looked around for a moment. "Saint Mark's Square, near the Grand Canal."

"Really?" Jettingham sounded amazed. "How did you and Valentine managed that? The both of you are way off!"

"Dunno, sir. We just make this all up as we go along," Jill replied. "We can't make it to the rendezvous point from here."

"Yeah, no kidding. Umbrella's got its men on the move looking for the both of you. We should make it to the sales office's roof and from there, get you guys out of there. Think you can hold out until we can retrieve the both of you?"

"I don't think so," Chris replied, seeing the eight Umbrella agents who had somehow survived the flooding of the facility round the corner. Grabbing Jill by the wrist, the couple ran off in the other direction. The lead Umbrella goon saw the drenched couple run off and shouted in Italian to his subordinates before giving chase.

* * *

Had either the Umbrella agents or Chris and Jill were paying attention, they would have noticed a Chinese female seated incognito in at a table.

Ada Wong watched as the Umbrella goons chase after Chris and Jill as she casually sipped at her tea. The former Umbrella operative-turned-Organization spy had to admit that despite Umbrella setting a trap for both Redfield and Valentine, they had proven once again to defy the odds, to make the impossible possible. Acting on orders from her superiors, she had leaked out the location of the Venice facility to the Anti-Umbrella forces.

'No wonder Wesker hates their guts,' Ada thought wryly.

Albert Wesker. The blond superman. Thought to have died in Raccoon City, he returned to the Organization following the incident at the South Pole. Despite his superhuman abilities and the fact that they had a sample of the T-Veronica virus in their possession, he had underestimated Chris Redfield, given the wounds – which were more than enough to kill a lesser man – he had suffered at the hands of his former subordinate.

Wesker had planned to kill the both of them while they were out retrieving HUNK, but his superiors had told him that for the moment, Chris Redfield, Jill Valentine and any other Raccoon survivor was off-limits.

When Wesker balked at the orders, they reminded him that it was only through their serum that the virus which granted him his superhuman abilities could easily be taken away from him, weakening him to the point where he could easily be killed.

What Wesker did not know – but Ada did – was that not only Wesker had to take his meds at the exact time of injection, but should he inject himself with an extra dose afterward could cause him to overdose, and in the end, weaken him.

But Ada kept that to herself.

Her superiors had their eyes on Chris and Jill for quite some time, watching their accomplishments with great interest. When Graham went snooping around for Sherry, they decided to hand her over to child protection services, as they saw that she even she needed a stable home.

'Oh well. Time to report in,' Ada thought as she paid for her tea and walked off in the opposite direction.

* * *

Meanwhile...

Any Umbrella agent that had came across their path were quickly put down. But the armed Umbrella goons were closing in and there was only so much that Chris and Jill could do.

Rounding the corner, they saw that the road lead to a nearby dock. A dead end. However, salvation came in the form of three speedboats that were docked. Not wasting any time, Chris and Jill leapt into the first boat, ignoring the shouts of the Italian boat vendor as Jill frantically undid the tether which kept the boat from drifting into the Grand Canal.

Chris turned the ignition and not giving the chance for the speedboat's engines to warm up, gunned the throttle and both he and Jill took off into the Grand Canal...but not before two of the Umbrella agents raced to their speedboat and jumped in. The other six men knocked out the vendor and took the remaining boats, three to each speedboat, and gave chase.

* * *

On the other side of the Grand Canal...

The Umbrella Sales Office in Venice was located inside an antique building owned by the company. Located on the shores of the Grand Canal, it had a picture-perfect view of the surrounding area. It was also home to an underwater laboratory which was accessible by two paths; an underground tram and through the catacombs and sewers, which was the long way around.

The door to the roof opened and out came Echo Six, having shot their way through the facility and part of the sales office. Given the amount of resistance they had encountered on their way out of the facility, they were nearly out of ammo for their weapons.

"I don't know about you, Boss, but I am really starting to hate Venice," Morris groused out.

Jettingham grunted as he turned to the team's resident sniper. "Party Girl, see if you can find Redfield and Valentine."

Brandishing her sniper rifle, Fowler walked over to the edge. "On it, sir," she replied as she scanned the Grand Canal.

"Falcon, this is Dee-Ay," Jettingham spoke, contacting their escape vehicle, which was situated several miles away. "Requesting immediate evac, over."

"Copy that, Dee-Ay. ETA is five minutes."

Jettiingham looked at his watch. "Five minutes. Better hope that Redfield and Valentine can hold out for that long."

"Boss! I found them!" Fowler shouted. "They're in the Canal! And they got company!"

* * *

Meanwhile, on the Canal...

Jill was steering the speedboat while Chris dealt with the two intruders. The first man was armed with a handgun, which was sent into the Canal, with himself following suit shortly thereafter thanks to a well-aimed punch to the jaw from Chris.

The second man was armed with a knife – a KA-BAR, military-issue. The man had the upper hand in the fight, seeing as how he had Chris underneath him and tried to impale Chris through the shoulder. But Chris moved out of the way, and the knife went into the boat's hardwood finish.

Jill, having turned her head to see how Chris was doing, saw the predicament that he was in and decided to help. She turned the speedboat into a hard left, causing the Umbrella goon to lose his balance, allowing Chris to gain the upper hand.

Unfortunately, Jill had turned the speedboat into the direction of two freighters. Even more worse was that three tugboats was pushing the smaller freighter closer to the larger one.

Chris proceeded to bash the man's face repeatedly into the wood grain when he looked up and saw where Jill was headed...right in between the two freighters. "What are you, crazy?!" he shouted. "Don't go between them!"

Jill, for her part, could not hear Chris quite clearly over the speedboat's engine. All she heard was 'Go between them.' To which she snapped her head back and retorted with, "Go between them?! Are you crazy?!"

Hauling the Umbrella agent to his feet, Chris punched him off the boat and made his way back to the front, where he took the wheel from his wife. By that time, the speedboat was on a course that would take them straight through the impromptu passageway that the two freighters had created.

"Damn it! I said go around!" Chris shouted.

"You said go between them!" Jill shouted back.

"I said **don't** go between them!"

Of course, the point was now moot, as their speedboat and the first one containing the Umbrella goons sped down the narrow passage, while the third boat went around the smaller freighter.

* * *

Back at the Sales Office Rooftop...

Jettingham, having a spare pair of binoculars, was watching the chase alongside Fowler, having spotted them minutes earlier. They were both watching as Jill had steered the boat toward the two freighters. Both Ronson and Jettingham listened with mild amusement at the couple's verbal fight over their earpieces.

"And Chris says that I'm nuts," Ronson said. "Your former subordinate is out of her mind, Captain. I'm starting to think that Chris likes crazy women."

"You should see her behind a tank," Jettingham replied.

"Chopper inbound, Captain!" Kimbala shouted as he retrieved a signal flare. "Popping smoke."

The chopper was a CH-3C/E Sea King – primarily used in the U.S. Air Force and Coast Guard. The Italian Air Force also used the chopper as well. Capable of landing on land as well on water, it was a favorite with the American and Italian air forces. This one, however, was on loan from Ramestein Air Force Base in Germany.

Once the Sea King landed, Echo Six piled onboard, Jettingham taking the co-pilot's seat. The pilot looked at Jettingham's team. "Hey! You're two short! Where's Redfield and Valentine?"

"In the Grand Canal," was the commander's reply. "We're heading there to pick them up now!"

"Roger that," the pilot said.

Within moments, the Sea Hawk was in the air and in pursuit of Chris Redfield and Jill Valentine.

* * *

Back on the Canal...

The two freighters were inching even closer as Chris and Jill reached the halfway point.

"We're not going to make it!" Jill shouted.

"You're not helping!" Chris shouted back. "This is going to be close!"

By this time, the hulls of the freighters were scraping up against the two speedboats. But whether it was pure luck or something from a higher power, their speedboat made it through the opening. Their pursuers, however, were not as lucky, as their speedboat was crushed between the two freighters, their engine exploding from the pressure, killing the men onboard. The men on both freighters, however, were not harmed, but shaken by the explosion.

* * *

On the Sea Hawk...

"You got to admit that Captain Redfield and Lieutenant Valentine sure as hell don't disappoint," Ronson said, watching the chase from the chopper as they closed in on Chris and Jill. "Their antics make for some excellent entertainment."

"Indeed," Jettingham concurred. "And here, I thought Air Force boys were pansies. Glad to know that he proved me wrong." Turning to Fowler, he asked, "Party Girl, can you provide fire support?"

The blonde sniper didn't needed to be asked twice. Looking through her rifle's scope, she replied, "Given the distance, it's a fifty-fifty shot, but I'm willing to bet that Redfield and Valentine won't be able to last much longer out there, sir."

Jettingham nodded. "If you got the shot, then take it."

Fowler grinned. "Gladly."

* * *

"Aw, shit! They nailed the engines!" Chris cursed as smoke began to rise from the rear, the engine sputtering and dying, leaving them dead in the water.

The Umbrella gunman fired off another volley from his machine gun, Chris forcing Jill to take cover from the spray of high-velocity lead, he himself narrowly avoiding being hit from the bullets, yet his hand did end up getting a chunk of glass embedded in it as a result of the gunfire.

As Jill tried to wrap her husband's hand with an impromptu bandage, the Umbrella gunman ejected the spent clip and produced a second one. He loaded it, cocked it and prepared to finish off Chris and Jill once and for all...

**BLAM!**

...when over the sound of an approaching helicopter, the sound of a sniper rifle went off, and the gunman's right eye socket exploded in a gruesome exit wound. Dead on his feet, he dropped the assault rifle and fell into the water.

The Sea Hawk was closing in, as Corporal Fowler took aim at the second gunman, who had retrieved the assault rifle and aimed it at the chopper.

"I don't think so," Party Girl whispered as she squeezed the trigger.

**BLAM!**

The second gunman's heart exploded in his chest. Dropping the gun, he keeled over and followed his companion, splashing into the water.

The Sea Hawk hovered over Chris and Jill. From the open hatch, a metal ladder was kicked down, courtesy of Ronson, who was prepping two more satchel charges for the speedboats. Jill went up the ladder first, followed by Chris. Once the ladder was retracted, Ronson dropped the charges into the speedboats and the chopper flew off. Thirty seconds later, the charges detonated, destroying the boats and sinking them into the canal.

Inside the chopper, Morris tended to Chris' injury. "Seriously, I thought you said to go between the ships," Jill said.

"I said go around," Chris replied.

As the argument continued, Ronson and Jettingham exchanged glances. "I think they are getting better at this," Ronson said.

"That and it's fun to watch," Jettingham continued as the chopper made its way out of Venice.

* * *

Andrews Air Force Base, one week later.

Colonel Graham had read the reports following the assignment into Venice, Chris and Jill were standing before him while he scanned the reports. Although he was upset that the mission was a setup in an attempt to trap both Chris and Jill, he was glad that the mission was not a failure, as they had gotten the information which was on the hard drives, meaning that the mission was a success. The fact that Umbrella was now missing another facility was a bonus.

"Although I wished that this mission would have been done better, good work from the both of you," Graham said. "Thanks to the both of you, Umbrella has been dealt a serious blow. However, I got no assignments for the both of you at the moment."

"That's okay, Colonel," Chris replied. "Valentine and I will make do."

Graham shook his head. "No, Redfield. You maybe the top officers in the OSI, but the both of you are no good to me if you burn yourselves out. I hate Umbrella as much as the both of you do, but you two need some time away from work. Which is why I am giving the both of you the month off."

Graham then landed the nail in the coffin when they tried to object. "Captain Redfield, Lieutenant Valentine, have fun. That's an order. Dismissed."

Chris and Jill both exited the briefing room.

* * *

Redfield Home, later.

Later on that day, Chris and Jill were relaxing in the living room. The married couple were on the love seat, Jill stretched out, her feet on a pillow in Chris's lap. Sherry and Claire were on the sofa, Claire punching in keys on her laptop while Sherry worked on a letter.

"So your boss gave you a whole month off," Claire said. "What you got planned?"

"Honestly...we don't know," Jill replied. "Chris and I talked about it. We sure as hell do not plan on hanging around here. We were thinking about traveling."

"So long as it's nowhere in Europe, especially Venice," Chris added, shooting a nasty look at his wife.

Jill groaned. "For the last time, I thought you said go between them."

"Okay...I don't want to know about how your last assignment went," Claire said. Turning to Sherry, she asked, "What are you doing?"

"Writing to my penpal," Sherry replied. "He's a boy in Eastern Europe."

"Penpal? When did this come around?" Chris asked, interested.

"About last month. We send emails and write letters," Sherry explained. "He's really neat. Can also speak English fluently."

"What's his name?" Jill asked.

"His name is Jake," Sherry replied. "Jake Muller."

"Huh. Interesting name," Chris noted. "Dad must be American."

* * *

Inside a hidden laboratory in Eurasia, Albert Wesker sneezed.

Sniffing, the superman thought as he went over some documents, 'Either I'm coming down with something, which is close to impossible, or someone is talking about me.'

* * *

"I was thinking the same thing," Sherry said. "He said that his dad died before he was born and that he lives with his mother."

"Sorry to hear that," Chris said.

Meanwhile, Jill, having caught a glimpse of a slightly open magazine Claire had left on the coffee table, took notice of a bridal dress being modeled in an ad. A smile crept across her face as she remembered the conversation she had with Chris while hiding out in Sydney.

"_Once all of this is taken care of, I'll bring you here for a real vacation."_

"_I'll hold you to that, Redfield, but I'll settle for a actual wedding ceremony."_

Chris looked at Jill, whose smile grew as she turned her azure eyes onto her husband. "What? What is it?"

"Remember your promise to me back in Sydney? You owe me a wedding ceremony, Captain Redfield," Jill replied. "And now, it's time to collect on that promise."

Now, Claire and Sherry looked on at the conversation with growing interest. Sherry knew that her guardians were married, but they had to rush it and it was before Raccoon had went straight to hell.

Chris remembered promising Jill a wedding ceremony after Rockfort Island. His own face broke out into a grin. "I believe I do owe you an actual ceremony," he replied. "So how do you want to do this?"

Jill thought about for a moment. "Not to big, but not too small either. Nice wedding dress, cake, the works."

"Invitations?"

"Close family and friends. Dad especially. Oh, and Carlos might want to come."

"Same with Melani and Evil Ed. Think we can pull this off?"

"What's the timetable?"

"Two weeks. Honeymoon?"

Jill thought about it for a moment. "Somewhere tropical...and where I can get a nice bikini."

"Hawaii?"

"Even better."

* * *

Shortly after Chris and Jill's escape from Venice...

The Wolfpack had been away assisting Colonel Vladimir in excavating the ruins of the Rockfort and Antarctic facilities when the reports came in regarding the destruction of the Venice laboratory at the hands of Echo Six and the two former S.T.A.R.S. members. Suffice to say, Lord Spencer was furious. In the past two years, Umbrella had been taking some serious hits, starting with the loss of his namesake mansion and laboratory in Raccoon City, followed by the destruction of its second hidden lab underneath the city, as well as the city itself.

That followed with the destruction of the labs in Caliban Cove, Rockfort Island and the Antarctic facility (although he blamed Wesker for those two, as they were his fault), and the Loire Facility in which the Nemesis virus was created. The Wolfpack had been at the last facility, but had failed to eliminate Redfield, Valentine, Burton and HUNK.

Now, with the loss of the Venice facility, in which critical information regarding their bioweapons program was housed, Umbrella had been given a much serious blow. As a result Spencer had ordered the remaining Umbrella facilities and laboratories to be on high alert. Of course, that did little to stem the tide. Umbrella's bioweapons and virus programs were now out in the open, and it was only a matter of time before Umbrella would fall.

As Jill Valentine had put it, "Once the wheels of justice begin to turn nothing can stop them. Nothing."

* * *

Hotel Metropole, Principality of Monaco

The Wolfpack's latest gig was protecting a high-ranking Umbrella official who was on his way to Umbrella's Paris Offices. Once that was done, Lord Spencer would have their next assignment. The Umbrella executive had reservations at Hotel Metropole, and had it set up so that the Wolfpack's rooms would be surrounding his own - Lupo, Bertha and Specter on one side, and Four-Eyes and Vector on the other.

It was close to midnight, and the majority of the Wolfpack was asleep, save for Lupo, who was checkiing up on her children, and Four-Eyes, who was in the shower.

Having finished her shower, Christine Yamata exited the bathroom, dressed in a T-shirt and a pair of pajama pants. Almost immediately, the hairs on the back of her neck were standing straight up, as she knew that something was amiss.

The lights in her hotel room came on. Seated in a chair on the opposite side of the room, was Ada Wong.

"Doctor Yamata," the enigma greeted.

"You traitor," Four-Eyes hissed.

"I prefer 'opportunist,' to tell the truth," Ada corrected.

From the corner of her eye, Four-Eyes saw the Glock on the nightstand, in the same place where she left it. Only thing that stood between her and her gun was the bed.

"What are you doing here?" the Umbrella scientist demanded.

"Isn't that the million-dollar question," Ada replied. "Well, I've heard that you and your buddies are going after Redfield and the others. I also heard that by extension, you've targeted both Kennedy and Redfield's sister without Spencer's knowledge. That, my superiors cannot allow. My job is to take some of the heat off of Redfield and Valentine."

"Why?" Four-Eyes demanded. "What makes them so damn important? They seek to destroy the company!"

"And I hope that they succeed," Ada said. "As to what makes them important...absolutely nothing. Wait...I take that back. The organization that I work for had their eyes on both Chris Redfield and Jill Valentine for a while, especially Miss Valentine. As for Kennedy and the other Redfield...that's another story."

"So you know about 'Project V,'" Four-Eyes said. "Because of the fact that P-20 had bonded to Valentine's DNA and made her what she is today. Not only does she has the P-20 in her body, it's more than likely that she has antibodies for the T-virus as well."

"But there's something that you nor Umbrella does not know," Ada said. "You're not the only one with connections, Yamata. The vaccine used to save Valentine's life did not eradicate the virus from her system. The Tyrant virus is merely laying dormant inside her body, but it's not a threat in any shape, form or fashion. Her exposure to P-20 may have been a factor as to how she managed to survive her exposure to the T-virus, but we'll never know."

"How do you know this?" Four-Eyes demanded.

Ada smiled. "Blood tests are mandatory when it comes to physicals. My employers found out this little tidbit and shared it with me. Rather than follow Umbrella's example and abduct Valentine, we decided on a second route. Through her husband, Valentine has grown, and we believe that her potential can be reached under Redfield's guidance."

"And Birkin's daughter? You had a hand in that as well?" Yamata demanded.

"We did," Ada confirmed. "We're not cruel, unlike Spencer. Our methods and motives are...'questionable' at best, but the Birkin girl deserves a chance to live a normal life. The girl shows extraordinary promise with her own attributes, once they come into fruition."

Ada didn't even blink as Yamata dove across the bed and retrieved her pistol. She remained in her seat as Four-Eyes leveled her gun at Ada's head.

"Pity," Yamata said, a smug look on her face. "You should have stayed with the company, Wong. It didn't have to come to this," she finished as she pulled the trigger.

**CLICK.**

Yamata's eyes widened as she realized that her gun was empty.

"Works better with this," Ada said, holding the clip in one hand, while brandishing her own gun in the other. "Did you really think that I would let you live after revealing to you what I know in regards to the Raccoon survivors?"

"You wouldn't shoot me," Four-Eyes replied. "The sound of the gunshot will alert Lupo and the others."

"Sure...if the rooms were not soundproofed," Ada pointed out, calling Four-Eyes' bluff. "The executive in which the Wolfpack is guarding hates noise, which is why this hotel had a series of soundproofed rooms...and the Wolfpack is in every single one of them."

Yamata sighed. She knew that she would not live through the night. "So that's it then? I'm to be killed." Her tone was one of acceptance. "Do I at least get one final request?"

Ada's response was to raise her gun and pulled the trigger. Unlike Yamata's gun, hers was loaded. The nine-millimeter round made a perfect hole in Yamata's head, while the exit wound splattered blood, bone and gore onto the wall behind her. Four-Eyes was dead before she hit the ground.

"A quick death. That's your final request," Ada replied calmly as she holstered her gun. Once she secured Four-Eyes' laptop in her bag, she pulled out her grappling gun. Leaving Four-Eyes' body behind, she made her escape through the outside window.

Christine Yamata's corpse would be discovered the following morning by members of the Wolfpack. Ada Wong would be long gone by then.

* * *

Two weeks later.

The tide has turned in the war against the Umbrella Corporation. It would take months, even years, but it was certain that Umbrella would finally face the music for its crimes. In the meantime, inside a posh hotel somewhere in the D.C. area, a (long overdue) wedding was taking place. It had been nearly two years, but Jill was finally getting her dream wedding.

It felt strange to have a wedding ceremony after nearly two years of fighting Umbrella. But Chris did promised her a wedding ceremony and he was good on his word. The wedding was a quiet affair, since there were those who had ties to Umbrella wanted Chris and Jill dead. Despite the fact that Umbrella was weakening, Chris and Jill wasn't going to take any chances.

The former S.T.A.R.S. operative and Raccoon survivor looked radiant in her wedding dress, her hair pulled back into a bun (think the wedding dress and hairstyle Yuna wore in FFX, only that the dress has no feathers). The only thing Jill didn't have on (and that she outright refused to wear) was the veil. Kathy, the matron of honor, along with Claire and Rebecca fussed over the bride until there was a knock on the door.

Dick entered the room, dressed in a suit. He had been released a year earlier and had retired to a nice, quiet life in Exeter. The former thief had even written a fictional novel based on his life as a thief (with the obligatory name changes), which was doing well on the bestseller's list. While his daughter was fighting Umbrella alongside Chris, Dick managed to deflect several of Umbrella's goons who were disguised as federal agents. When they asked if he had seen Jill, the wily Valentine had put on an Oscar-worthy performance, acting like a drunk who cursed his daughter's name. The phony agents bought the ruse and left Dick alone.

"Ladies," Dick greeted. "May I have a moment with my daughter, please?"

The matron and the bridesmaids nodded and exited the room.

Dick turned to his daughter and smiled. "You look beautiful, Jillianne," he said. "Simply beautiful."

Jill was glowing. "Thanks, Dad."

Dick pulled up a chair and sat down. "Jillianne...you know that I would only want the best for you. That I would trust the happiness of my only daughter to a man that I admire and respect. Chris is that man." He paused for a moment. "Jillianne...I want to apologize to you. I know that I wasn't a good father, and that I had to raise you by myself following your mother's passing, but I did my best to give you a good childhood with whatever means I had."

"Daddy..." Jill began, "you were a great father. You taught me how to stand on my own two feet."

Dick shrugged his shoulders. "That and how to break into a house."

Jill chuckled at her father's dry wit. "That too. Despite what people will say, I will always love you. Thanks for being there for me."

Dick shook his head. "No...thank you for giving this old man the honor of walking his little princess down the aisle."

The door opened and Claire stuck her head inside. "Jill? It's time."

* * *

Inside the ballroom, the guests – mostly Raccoon survivors who had managed to escape the doomed city and those Chris and Jill had met during their war against Umbrella – wait in anticipation for the long overdue wedding between Chris Redfield and Jill Valentine. Chris stood before the gathered guests, dressed in his tuxedo (sans necktie), along with Barry, who was his best man, his wife Kathy as the matron of honor. Even Roland Graham and his wife, Sarah Graham and their daughter, 15-year-old Ashley Graham attended, having been seated in the front row.

Echo Six – dressed in their formal Army uniforms – sat in the audience, Captain Jettingham looking on with pride at his former subordinate being married. Sienna Fowler and Caroline Floyd were trying their hardest not to break out in tears. Edmond MacPherson sat beside Melani Jackson and Marissa Ronson, both wiping the tears from their eyes. HUNK was also present, seated next to Carlos Oliveira the former having some shred of emotion on his face as he remembered his former love. Bruce McGivern sat beside Carlos and watched the proceedings.

The judge who had overseen their wedding back in Raccoon was overseeing the wedding ceremony. Jill had warned him to leave the city days before the viral outbreak and fortunately, the judge was smart enough to heed her advice. Now he was back, at Chris and Jill's request to conduct their official wedding ceremony. The gathered guests rose to their feet as 'Wedding March' began to play. Sherry, Moira and Pollyanne Burton were radiant as the flower girls, followed by Claire, who was escorted by Leon and Rebecca was escorted by Billy Coen.

Then came Jill, looking radiant in her wedding dress, escorted by her father. Within minutes, Jill had taken her place at Chris's side as Dick stepped back.

"Dearly beloved," the judge began, "we are gathered together here in the sight of God – and in the face of this company – to join together this man, Christopher Lawrence Redfield, and this woman, Jillianne Catherine Valentine, in holy matrimony, which is commended to be honorable among all men; and therefore, is not by any, to be entered into unadvisedly or lightly – but reverently, discreetly, advisedly and solemnly."

At the moment, Chris and Jill were not interested in what the judge was saying. They were busy looking at each other.

"Through marriage," the judge continued, "Christopher and Jillianne make a commitment together to face their disappointments, embrace their dreams, realize their hopes, and accept each other's failures. Christopher and Jillianne will promise one another to aspire to these ideals throughout their lives together – through mutual understanding – openness – and sensitivity to each other."

The judge turned to Chris. "Do you, Christopher Lawrence Redfield, take this woman, Jillianne Catherine Valentine as your lawfully wedded wife? To live together after God's ordinance – in the holy estate of matrimony? Will you love her, comfort her, honor and keep her, in sickness and in health, for richer, for poorer, for better, for worse, in sadness and in joy, to cherish and continually bestow upon her your heart's deepest devotion, forsaking all others, keep yourself only unto her as long as you both shall live?"

"I do," Chris replied.

"And do you, Jillianne Catherine Valentine, take this man, Christopher Lawrence Redfield, as you lawfully wedded husband? To live together after God's ordinance – in the holy estate of matrimony? Will you love him, comfort him, honor and keep him, in sickness and in health, for richer, for poorer, for better, for worse, in sadness and in joy, to cherish and continually bestow upon him your heart's deepest devotion, forsaking all others, keep yourself only unto him as long as you both shall live?"

"I do," Jill replied.

"Who has the rings?"

Barry produced the wedding band and the diamond ring. The rings were then exchanged.

"Into this holy estate these two persons present now come to be joined. If any person can show just cause why they may not be joined together, let them speak now or forever hold their peace."

Silence reigned throughout the hall.

"What has been brought here, shall no one tear asunder," the judge decreed. "By the power invested in me, I pronounce you husband and wife." He turned to Chris and grinned. "Have at her, cowboy."

Chris took Jill in his arms and planted a toe-curling kiss, which Jill responded with equal passion. Fowler was taking pictures. Ronson and Floyd had broken out in tears. Claire and Sherry were clapping the loudest. Rebecca and Carlos were doing their very best to not bawl in happiness. Barry and Kathy had huge smiles on their faces as they applauded.

* * *

Inside the reception hall, Dick Valentine approached Chris and Jill. "Although this is long overdue, congratulations to the both of you," he said, embracing his daughter and shaking his son-in-law's hand.

"Thanks, Daddy," Jill replied.

"Thanks, Dick," Chris seconded, just as Graham approached the pair and the elder Valentine.

"Now this was definitely worth seeing," Graham said, shaking both Chris and Jill's hand. Turning to Dick, he asked, "You're Jill's father?"

Dick nodded. "Yes I am."

"Dad, this is my commanding officer, Colonel Roland Graham," Jill said, introducing her father and Colonel Graham. "Colonel Graham, my father, Dick Valentine."

The two men shook hands. "You must be very proud of your daughter, Mr. Valentine," Graham said. "She is something."

"She learned from the best," Dick replied with pride in his voice. "Excuse me."

As Dick turned and headed for a nearby table – he had promised Alyssa an interview – Graham turned to the couple. "I planned on springing this on the both of you after you returned, but I thought why not." He grinned. "Consider this a wedding gift from Yours Truly and the Air Force. You two have been knocked up a rank, thanks to your actions against Umbrella. Major Redfield, First Lieutenant Valentine...congratulations."

"Thank you Colonel," Chris and Jill replied in unison.

As Graham returned to his family, Edmond MacPherson and Melani Jackson walked up to the couple. "Redfield, you old bastard!" Ed greeted as he shook Chris' hand, while Melani hugged Jill. "Although the both of you have been married for some time, congratulations to the both of you."

"Thanks, Ed," Chris replied.

Melani turned to Chris. "Chris. Congratulations," she said, giving him a chaste kiss on the cheek. Turning to Jill, she said, "Better take care of him, Jill. He's really something."

Jill beamed. "I know."

Following several more of their guests congratulating the couple, Chris and Jill moved over to the cake. Chris and Jill fought the urge not to smear it on the other's faces as they fed it to one another. The dance came next. When it came time for them to depart for their long-overdue honeymoon, the couple stood before the patrons at the hotel's entrance, Chris holding Jill's garter in one hand, while Jill had the bouquet in her hands.

Chris cocked his hand back and let the garter fly, just as Jill turned around and tossed her bouquet over her head. The garter landed in Leon's hands, while the bouquet landed landed in Claire's hands. They both looked at each other and Claire blushed, while Leon looked embarassed.

Saying their goodbyes, Chris and Jill entered the limo, where it sped off. Chris and Jill had agreed on Hawaii and Chris had made the arrangements. They would be spending the next three weeks in Honolulu for their honeymoon. No Umbrella. No rampaging bioweapons or ex-superiors hell-bent on killing them. Just the two of them on a much-needed vacation from the madness that was their lives.

Notes: Part One is complete. Part Two will be coming as soon as possible.


	20. 18: The Next Step Pt2

_**Chapter Seventeen: The Next Step, Part Two**_

Snafu's Notes: As you can see by this update, the story is not dead. I had this placed on hiatus until I got some other fanfics out of the way. But now, I'm back with an all-new chapter. Wow. Been over a year since its last update. Aside from placing it on hiatus, I also had a case of writers' block, hence the delay. How ironic that 'Pacific Rim' would give me the proverbial kick in the ass - mainly the Raleigh vs Mako fight scene - that I needed. The fight is referenced in the chapter, as it shows just how far Jill has come under Chris' guidance.

Again, this is the edited version of the chapter, as it begins on their honeymoon. Last, after thinking things over, I've modeled Jill's mother after the actress Tao Okamoto (Mariko Yashida from The Wolverine). Finally, Derek Simmons and Carla Radames (pre-Project Ada) make an appearance. Last, this chapter is going to be three parts, rather than two.

Sheraton Waikiki Hotel – Honolulu, Hawaii

An oceanfront one-bedroom suite, complete with a view of Waikiki Beach. The doors opened and a bellhop entered, lugging two suitcases. He was followed by the hotel's manager, who was escorting the newlyweds inside.

"Our honeymoon suite," the manager began, going into a sales pitch. "Wonderful view of Diamond Head." He gestured to the bottle of champagne that was being kept on ice. "Complimentary bottle of champagne."

Chris Redfield looked around the room, letting out a low whistle, as did his wife. "Nice," he said.

"As per the honeymoon package," the manager continued, "You also get breakfast and dinner for two at the Market, daily access to the Leahi Lounge, a catamaran ride, and for your wife, a $200 credit at the spa."

"She would most definitely like that," said Chris.

After giving the manager and the bellhop a gracious tip, the couple was left alone. Both were dressed incognito, as not to have a repeat of what had happened when they had left to retrieve HUNK the first time around. Thanks to Graham, they both had fake ID cards and their guns were inside their suitcases, but even though Hawaii was not home to any Umbrella facility and/or laboratory, Chris and Jill were not taking any chances.

Once Chris had showed the manager and bellhop out of the room (giving them both a gracious tip), he turned to face his wife, who was out on the balcony. He noticed that her hair was starting to get a bit longer ever since returning from Venice. Ever since their days in Raccoon City, she had always wore it short. A subtle change, but one Chris noticed.

A three-week honeymoon in Hawaii. No Umbrella, no Wesker and no Wolfpack running around trying to ruin their vacation. No responsibilities. He was not Major Redfield, nor was she Lieutenant Valentine. Just the both of them on a long-overdue honeymoon.

Jill did not bat an eye when she felt Chris's arms wrap around her waist, pulling her closer, his hot breath on her shoulder. Jill smiled as she placed her own hands on Chris's own, smiling, still looking out into the horizon.

"Three weeks in Hawaii," said Jill, turning her head and smiling at her husband. "No Wesker. No Umbrella."

"No responsibilities," finished Chris. "No Claire, Leon or Sherry."

They walked back into the room. Chris saw the bottle of champagne and retrieved it, while Jill picked up two glasses.

"Wish we could have done this a whole lot sooner," Chris said as he popped the cork, pouring both himself and Jill a glass. He put the bottle back on ice as Jill handed him his glass. "To us," he said.

Jill clinked her glass with Chris' own. "To us," she said, smiling, as she downed her glass. "Are you sure that no one knows where we are?"

"Evil Ed and Melani got that covered. Wesker and the Wolfpack will be sent on a wild goose chase," her husband replied. "According to the both of them, we're in one of three places: Switzerland, Macau or Bali."

Aside from the precautions taken to ensure their safety, the pair did not take any chances during their plane trip. Chris had spoken English in a heavy Dutch accent, while Jill had a blonde wig hiding her dark brown locks. Only when their plane made the final approach to Honolulu did they drop their disguises. Even the hotel they were staying in was under Chris's mother's maiden name.

The pair had came a long way in their relationship since that night where they had first screwed inside the S.T.A.R.S. Office. Sure their relationships had several flaws and even Chris was sent to sleep on the couch once in a blue moon, but HUNK was right about their relationship, Jill had to admit. At times, for Jill, Chris could be a complete jerk, while to Chris, Jill could be a royal bitch, but as HUNK had told Jill during their mission in France, it they reinforced the other's strengths while shoring the other's weakness. The second main reason was that they were also natural rivals, Jill pushing herself to be even better, with Chris training and analyzing her every step of the way.

In other words, Jill was now her husband's impromptu science project.

Even HUNK had gotten in on the action, training Jill in the art of stealth the same way he trained Vector.

"So...what do you want to do?" Chris asked.

Jill grinned. She walked over to her suitcase and pulled out several articles of clothing. "I'm going to change. Then you are going to take me on a walk along the beach." 

* * *

It was the middle of the afternoon when the couple strolled along the beach, the surf splashing at their ankles as the waters reached inland. Hand in hand, they walked, Chris in a white shirt and khaki pants, while Jill was in a two-piece blue-and-white striped bikini with a sarong skirt tied around her waist.

Even on their honeymoon, they could not let their guards down entirely, which is why in a back holster, Chris had both his and Jill's Samurai Edge handguns loaded and within reaching distance.

They had been walking along the beach for quite sometime, enjoying the other's company.

"This is nice," Chris said.

Jill nodded. "It sure is." She paused for a moment. "Have you...ever wondered how things might have turned out were it not for Umbrella?"

"You mean the both of us still in S.T.A.R.S., sneaking around due to the R.P.D.'s policy on workplace relationships?" her husband replied. "Yeah, I occasionally think about how things might have been different."

Jill unlaced her fingers from Chris' hand, opting to loop her arm through the crook of his arm instead. "So what's the story with you and HUNK?" he asked.

"He's heard of how you've made me your personal science project," Jill replied. "Remembered when I wore that blindfold for a week? That was his idea."

"I was wondering why you had that thing on. He must have been training your other senses."

Jill nodded. HUNK had taken an interest in Jill's training following the mission in Europe where she and the others had retrieved him. So he blindfolded her and left her like that for two weeks. Without her sight, Jill's other senses became more enhanced.

Then came her final test. She had to take out Echo Six, blindfolded, with her bare hands. Of which Jill had done with flying colors.

"In the end, HUNK was very impressed," Jill finished.

"I know. I was there when you took out Jettingham and Echo Six. That was pretty damn impressive."

"So much so, that he told me the origin of his codename," Jill said. "It's an acronym. Human Unit Never Killed."

"Catchy."

"Are you sure that Wesker or the Wolfpack do not know where we are?" asked Jill.

"I told you. Melani and Evil Ed are very thorough." 

* * *

Geneva, Switzerland.

As expected, the false information had fallen into the hands of the remaining members of the Wolfpack. Following the loss of Beltway and Four-Eyes, the surviving members had been assigned to work under Sergei Vladimir, Ozwell Spencer's right-hand man, and template for the humanlike appearance for the T-103's.

When word reached the Wolfpack that Chris Redfield and Jill Valentine were taking their honeymoon in Geneva, Lupo had asked for permission to retrieve Valentine. Vladimir agreed.

The information said that both Chris and Jill were staying at the Hotel d'Angelterre. Lupo recognized the hotel, as it was the same one her now-deceased husband had taken her on their honeymoon, so she knew how and where to get in without causing a major fuss.

The Wolfpack made hotel reservations under their aliases, and had checked in. As midnight approached, they donned their gear and made their way to the suite, located three floors above them. The mission was simple: kill Chris Redfield and capture Jill Valentine. Once Valentine was subdued (or dead), the Wolfpack would be extracted from the hotel from the rooftop.

Upon kicking the door in and swarming inside the suite, they noticed that the place was empty, that whoever was here was gone.

"Check the room," Lupo commanded.

After sweeping the room, Vector returned to report. "There's no one here," he said."

Lupo swore in French. She then radioed in to Vladimir. "Colonel Vladimir, the package is not here," she reported. "We've been played."

"Understood, Lupo," the voice replied in heavy accented English. "For now, Valentine will not be your target. We have confirmation that Albert Wesker is heading for Bali. You are to intercept him immediately."

"Understood," confirmed Lupo.

"What is it?" Bertha asked.

"For now, Valentine is on the backburner. We are to intercept Albert Wesker in Bali."

Specter sighed. He had really hoped to stain his blades with Redfield's blood. 'You were lucky this time, Redfield,' he thought darkly. 'Your luck can't last forever. We will soon have an end to this.'

"This mission is a failure," Lupo said. "Wolfpack, withdraw." 

* * *

Macau, China

Albert Wesker was surprised to hear that Chris Redfield had married Jill Valentine. In fact, he had not only suspected that he married her in the aftermath of the Spencer Mansion Incident, but had been romantically involved for several months before that fateful mission.

Had he not had such a hatred for his former subordinates for ruining his plans, Wesker would have been mildly impressed – and annoyed – with their keeping their relationship a secret for so long.

The Organization had made it clear that both Captain Redfield and Lieutenant Valentine were off-limits. But that didn't mean that Wesker could keep a watch on their exploits.

Umbrella knew about Project Valentine, and had attempted to 'retrieve' Jill in the aftermath of the Spencer Mansion fiasco. Now, Lord Spencer himself has ordered the Wolfpack to retrieve Valentine herself. Their first attempt ended with the death of their explosives expert, Beltway, killed by Valentine.

Their second casualty, the virologist Four-Eyes, was killed by Ada Wong, bringing down their members to just four.

"Those two have the luck of the devil," Wesker had said after reading up on their exploits following the destruction of Raccoon City.

'But their luck is about to run out,' Wesker thought darkly as he walked through the corridors of the Venetian Macao. He had received word that both Chris and Jill were spending their honeymoon here.

A honeymoon he planned on cutting short.

The unknown source was very thorough. Not only did Wesker received the location of the hotel, but also their room number. Wesker had to admit that Chris and Jill had excellent taste, as Wesker himself spent time at the Venetian himself, as Macao was home to an Umbrella sales office.

He was dressed as a tourist – black suit and shoes, with a turtleneck sweater, shades hiding his inhuman eyes, his Samurai Edge in his shoulder holster.

What the Organization did not know wouldn't hurt them, Wesker surmised. He would simply crash Chris and Jill's honeymoon, throw him out the window and kidnap Jill to use for his research.

The former S.T.A.R.S. Commander stopped in front of a door. Room 920. Wesker unholstered his handgun and took a step back. One superhuman kick to the door reduced it to three pieces.

Wesker stormed the room, Samurai Edge at the ready. But the room was empty.

'Damn it,' Wesker cursed mentally as he holstered his handgun. 'A decoy.'

The mission a failure, Wesker quietly exited the suite, leaving behind a mangled door.

* * *

It was early evening when Chris and Jill returned to the honeymoon suite. While Chris made a phone call to check on things back home, Jill took out some more articles of clothing and entered the bathroom.

Chris was just finishing his phone call, as he did not notice Jill emerging from the bathroom behind him.

Jillianne Valentine was a woman with simple tastes. Her lifestyle did not change when Chris told her about their huge bank account following her completion of officer candidate school. That also extended to her clothes, or rather what she wore underneath.

She had plenty of time to prepare for this night. After going through several choices of lingerie, she decided on a lacy black bra and a pair of thong panties. A men's Oxford dress shirt - blue in color, and similar to the old one Chris had given to her back in Raccoon City -  
completed the outfit, the shirt open, revealing the lingerie underneath.

Jill hardly wore makeup. Even on her wedding day, she only applied eye shadow and gloss. She was to Chris, an exotic, natural beauty. But as Jill watched Chris, something awakened deep down within her. A primal instinct, enhanced only by her being Patient Zero to Project Valentine.

She had felt this way once, back when they first got together back inside the S.T.A.R.S. Office. And now, that same primal feeling was back once again.

She whistled, getting Chris' attention once he ended the call with Claire.

Chris turned around, only to see Jill closing in the distance at a rapid pace. Then he found himself being pushed up against the wall, Jill pinning him there with her hands.

"I remember this position," Jill replied, her voice husky, lips mere centimeters from his own. She could smell the combination of soap and spice, a smell she loved. "S.T.A.R.S. Office, back in Raccoon City. Only I was the one pinned up against the wall."

"I also remembered you tried to take my head off before I kissed you," replied Chris. "Can't say that you weren't complaining at the time."

"You're lucky I didn't consider kneeing you in the balls," his wife replied before crushing his lips with hers, pinning him to the wall with her own body. Chris responded in kind, kissing her back, tongues dueling in the other's mouths.

Then Chris reversed their positions so that Jill found herself pinned to the wall. "Do you really want to do this?" he asked. "You really think you can beat me?"

Jill smirked. Chris was caught off-guard when Jill shoved him back several steps, allowing her to hop into the air towards him. Chris caught her, his hands on her ass, but the momentum sent them both to the queen-sized bed. 

* * *

Morning came over the city of Honolulu. However, the day would be marred by a freak typhoon which would soon hit the Hawaiian Islands in a matter of hours, meaning that they would be spending most of their honeymoon inside. Inside the honeymoon suite of the Sheraton Wakiki, Chris Redfield and Jill Valentine were fast asleep, naked with only a thin bedsheet covering their bodies, Chris on his back while Jill was using his shoulder as a pillow.

Jill woke up first. Chris was still fast asleep. Propping her head with her hand, the former thief looked at her husband and smiled. They had came a long way since Raccoon City. Both as partners and lovers. In fact the wedding night was a lot better than the night they officially decided on a actual relationship, as they had screwed all over the honeymoon suite for most of the night.

"You plan on staring at me all morning?"

Jill blinked. Chris was awake. But his eyes were still closed. She realized that she must have woken him up when she moved. "How do you know I'm staring at you?"

Chris opened his eyes. "You moved."

Jill leaned in and kissed him on the nose. Then she squealed as Chris grabbed her and reversed their positions, with Jill on the bottom and Chris on top. All thoughts of trying to reverse their positions went out the window as Jill responded to Chris' kisses.

'God is she so hot,' Chris thought as he looked at his biracial wife. Short dark hair framed her face, her electric blue eyes looking at him with a combination of love and desire.

"You know there is a typhoon coming in later on today," Chris mused. "The receptionist was complaining about it earlier yesterday."

"Looks like we'll have to make the best of our honeymoon today, then," Jill replied. She then gave her husband an impish smile, arms circling around Chris's back. "Then again...we got all we need right here."

"Is that right?" Chris replied. "Aren't we the impatient one, Lieutenant Valentine?"

"Look who's talking. You're the one trying to maintain control, Major Redfield."

"Trying...and failing."

"Good, cause I think I'm almost out of moves," Jill replied.

"I'm not," Chris replied as he kissed his wife again. The incoming typhoon would be the least of their concerns, as they would remain inside their suite for most of their stay.

Not that they were complaining.

"No regrets?" Chris asked after breaking off the kiss.

"Being married to you is quite...interesting," his wife replied. "I have no regrets."

That was all that was said before Jill kissed him again.

* * *

Redfield Home, Andrews Air Force Base – three weeks later.

Upon returning to Andrews Air Force Base, Jill found a package waiting for her. The package was addressed to her, sent by her father. Upon opening it, Jill saw that there was a disc inside.

Scribbled onto the label were four words: **FOR JILL - WATCH ME**.

Curious, Jill powered on her laptop and inserted the disk. As both her and Chris were the only people inside the house (as Claire was attending classes and Sherry was out with Barry's children), she allowed Chris to watch the disk with her.

The disc contained a video, of which Jill had opened on her laptop. The film opened with someone trying to adjust a video camera. The person was female, by the voice.

"Is this thing recording...?" the woman muttered off-screen. "Okay...here we go."

Jill let out a small gasp as the woman stepped into view and sat down in a chair. The woman was Japanese, early thirties, attractive, dark hair in a bun. She dressed in a blouse and slacks. A white lab coat was draped over her shoulders. She also looked rather pale.

Chris had seen photos of her around the house, those that Jill manage to salvage from her escape from Raccoon City. He recognized the woman as Jill's mother, Dr. Miyako Valentin. As Jill was holding his hand, he felt her grip tighten.

"Jillianne...oh, sorry, Jill. I always forget how much you hate being called that," her mother began. "Why I allowed your father to name you that, I will never know. If you are looking at this, then you are already married and settled down, and that your father had sent this to you following your wedding as I have requested."

Miyako's face then grew serious. Sighing, she continued to speak. "I've kept many secrets from you, Jill. The fact that you are watching this means that I am no longer in the land of the living. I've kept these secrets from you and your father to protect the both of you. The first is that I was not a nurse working for Raccoon Hospital. I was the Chief Scientist for Umbrella's Medical Division situated in Raccoon City."

"..." Jill was silent as her mother continued to speak.

"Before I met your father, or worked for Umbrella, I worked with Takara Pharmaceutical Incorporated," Miyako explained. "My partner and close confidant was Sachiko Kobayashi."

Jill - as well as Chris - recognized the name. She was the senior science officer present during the hearings on the Raccoon City Incident who worked in D.C. at Takara's offices there. She would definitely have words with Sachiko when she had the chance.

"I was good at my job. So much so that I was scouted by Umbrella. No, actually, they headhunted me," continued Miyako. "I attracted the attention of its chief science officer, Dr. William Birkin."

Jill and Chris recognized the name. Chris remembered meeting him back in Raccoon City on the day of the bank robbery. The late father of their ward, Sherry Birkin. The same Birkin who was partially responsible for the outbreak. And the same Birkin who had chased Leon, Claire and Sherry throughout the sewers and labs underneath Raccoon City.

"He made me an offer, a generous offer to work for Umbrella in Raccoon City," Miyako continued. "I was offered a job as Chief Scientist for Umbrella's Medical Division in Raccoon, which I accepted. That was where I met your father...and you were the result." Her face soon fell. "You were our little miracle...the best of East and West. But...as you know by now that you had been sick as a child, that you had a rare, yet lethal immunodeficiency that wrecked havoc on your immune system; a rare case of SCID. The doctors said that you would not make it to your teenage years, as the SCID would eventually waste your body away. I was desperate. And your salvation came in a side project in which I assisted Dr. Birkin on. Progenitor Ancillary No.20, or P20 for short."

The Japanese woman paused for a moment. "The serum did save your life, but there were some...side effects. I've taken a blood sample from your body and what I saw was nothing short of miraculous. P20 did cure you of your SCID, literally rebuilding your immune system, but it also somehow combined with your DNA. As P20 is based off of the Progenitor Virus, this is not surprising. What is surprising however, is that it also sharpened your senses, made you stronger and faster. But the most obvious sign of P20 in your system was the most obvious. It changed your eyes from brown to blue."

'That's what Wesker said,' Chris thought, then winced as Jill's grip on his hand tightened as she - and Chris - both remembered what Wesker had said about P20 inside the Spencer Labs.

"The serum did more than just cure your pneumonia, Valentine. Somehow...it has bonded to your DNA. It boosted your immune system, made you faster, stronger."

"If I had the choice to do it over again," Jill's mother said, "I would do it in a heartbeat. When you become a mother, you will find out that you would do anything to kee your children safe. I can only image...how you would look as a grown woman. The best of both worlds. It's funny, in a way. Terminal cancer can force such a retrospect in one's life. Your father did not know that I am sick. Despite his...'occupation,' I did not want him to worry about me." She sighed. "My only regret is that I could not live to see you grow into the beautiful young woman I know you would be. Jill...always know that even thought I am not here...I will always love you."

The video then cut off. It was over.

For a long time, Jill was silent, allowing the revelations which were revealed to her sink in. Looking inside the envelope, there were two more items inside. Jill pulled them out. The first item was her mother's Umbrella ID card, complete with her name: MIYAKO VALENTIN. The second was a family photo, consisting of her parents and Jill herself.

Jill remembered the event. The photo was taken during the summer, shortly before her mother's death. She had recently turned thirteen.

Chris noticed that there was a third item inside the envelope, one that Jill had overlooked. Upon upending the envelope and causing the final item to fall into his hand, he saw that it was a pendant. Carved from a ruby, the pendant was the size of his thumb, secured on a golden chain. There was also an inscription carved inside, written in Japanese kanji.

Chris saw that it was a Japanese proverb. The inscription read, 'The goodness of the father reaches higher than a mountain; that of the mother goes deeper than the ocean.'

He turned to his wife and presented the pendant. "Jill...this was inside the envelope."

Jill took one look at the pendant and gasped. "Mom's pendant," she whispered as Chris placed it into the palm of her hand. The pendant itself was seen inside the photo, and Jill had thought it to be lost forever when her mom had died.

"You need some time alone?" Chris asked.

Jill slowly nodded. But instead of Chris leaving the room, it was Jill who had stood up and left the room, walking into the backyard.

* * *

Jill was still in the backyard, seated in a lawn chair, lost in her thoughts. The Umbrella ID with her mother's name and photo was in her hands, while the pendant and photograph were on the table.

It had been nearly two hours, and she hadn't moved. Chris had seen Jill do this before, in the aftermath of the Spencer Mansion fiasco, as the totality of what Wesker had told them about 'Project Valentine' sunk in. She had been seated on the couch in his den, hugging her knees, lost in her thoughts.

On top of that, it had started to rain, and Jill still hadn't moved. Thankfully, the lawn table had an umbrella which gave her sufficient cover from the rain.

"Chris? Jill?"

Chris did not bother to turn around. Claire and Sherry had arrived. "In here," Chris replied.

Sure enough, Claire and Sherry entered the living room, with Leon in tow. Sherry was the first to notice Jill on the backyard porch. "Chris? What's wrong with Jill?" she asked.

Chris sighed. "It's a long story," he replied. "I'll let Jill fill you in on the details, as it's not my story to tell."

Not wanting to argue with her brother, Claire led Sherry away from Chris. 

* * *

Jill said nothing as Chris took a seat across from her. Her thumb idly ran across her mother's face.

"You okay?" Chris asked.

"Truthfully...no," replied Jill. "My mother was part of an organization which has ruined and destroyed so many lives. An organization that we are at war with. I thought that Wesker was lying when he told me...us, I mean, back in Raccoon..."

"Your mom may have been part of Umbrella," her husband chose his words carefully, "but she was not part of their viral research."

"You saw the video," snapped Jill. "She helped Birkin on P20!" She quickly caught herself. "Sorry. I know you're trying to help."

"Wouldn't be too much of a husband if I didn't."

Jill bit her lip. "I keep going back to that confrontation with Wesker inside the Spencer Labs...what he told me about my past and my connection to Umbrella..."

"I know," Chris replied. "It's a bitter pill to swallow."

"I always thought that Wesker was lying about my mom," continued Jill. "I thought that my mother was a nurse. Why did she lie to me?"

"To protect you," Chris replied. "To protect you from Umbrella. Wesker and Birkin knew, as Birkin was the one who did help your mother develop P20. Now...Umbrella knows about you and I will do anything and everything in my power to keep you safe." He reached over and took her hand into his. "You're a good woman, Jill. I wouldn't have married you if I thought you wasn't."

Jill sighed. "I'm sorry...I know you're trying to help...but what can I do? How can I deal with this?"

"You have me, for one thing," Chris replied, running his thumb along her wedding ring. "And you have Leon, my sister, Sherry, the Burtons, our teammates, and Colonel Graham."

"You think I should tell him?" Jill asked. "You think Graham should know?"

"It's up to you. But it's like I told you. I trust Graham with my life."

Jill nodded. "Chris...thank you. For just...putting up with me...over everything."

Chris said nothing. All he did was reach over and took Jill's hand in his own. The revelations to Jill were just another burden on her back. And Chris silently swore that he would help her shoulder that load. 

* * *

Several days later...

As it has been since their days with the R.P.D. S.T.A.R.S., Friday was spent working out for six hours.

Earlier in the week, Jill had taken Graham to the side and told him about her mother and of 'Project Valentine.' Chris was right. Graham understood the ramifications and promised to do everything in his power to keep Jill safe.

The workout room reminded the former S.T.A.R.S. members of the one back in Raccoon City, only with more space. The workout area also had a swimming pool, much to Jill's delight. Not even being chased by a mutated shark or overzealous giant man-eating worms have deterred Jill's love of swimming, something which her father had taught her.

But at the moment, she was not swimming. She was at the bottom of the pool's deep end, holding her breath. A normal person can hold their breath for about three minutes. Jill had been down in the pool for over fifteen minutes.

As Jill held her breath, she continued to think about the revelations that were revealed to her. Her mother was an Umbrella scientist. The serum which saved her life was partially her creation. Then there was the T-virus vaccine which Carlos had synthesized back in Raccoon's final days.

Ironic as to how the same entity that has destroyed so many lives with their viral and bioweapons research has saved her life twice over.

Sachiko Kobayashi was not the least bit surprised to see Jill at her offices that day. In fact, Sachiko had long since known that Jill was Miyako's daughter from that day inside the Capitol. Chris had went with her that day, and Sachiko helped fill in the blanks in regards to her mother. But there was so much more that Jill wanted to know about her mother that was left blank that not even Sachiko could help.

Jill continued to mull over her thoughts as she held her breath.

* * *

Chris Redfield sat on the bench situated beside the pool, stopwatch in hand. For the past fifteen minutes, Jill had been underwater.

If Jill's world had not already been turned upside down from the revelations regarding 'Project Valentine,' then it was most definitely shattered following her mother's confession several days prior.

"How long has she been under?" Graham asked as he entered the pool.

Chris showed him the stopwatch. "Sixteen minutes and counting."

Graham took a seat next to his subordinate. "Jill told me about Project Valentine and her mother's role in it."

"Had a feeling she would."

"You seem to be taking the news well," Graham noted.

"Someone has to," Chris replied. "How would you feel that you owed your life to the entity you are trying to destroy not once, but twice?"

"Honestly, I'd be pissed too. And upset."

Chris grunted and looked out onto the water. "Have I ever told you how I met Jill?" When Graham shook his head, Chris continued to speak. "She rear-ended me back in Raccoon and Wesker assigned her as my partner. Seems like a lifetime ago, when we were just sneaking around the R.P.D., using each other like pieces of meat before we actually decided on a actual relationship."

"Reminds me of me and Kelly when we first started out," Graham noted of his own wife.

"Jill told me about what HUNK said about us during our first mission to Europe. We shore the others' weaknesses while backing the other's strengths. He's right, you know. But despite everything, Jill is still vulnerable, as if showing weakness is a liability."

"And what do you think?"

"At times, Jill can be aggressive, stubborn and a royal bitch," Chris admitted. "And yet, I'm thankful for her every single day."

"Such is marriage," Graham said in a sage tone. "I've been married for almost twenty years and been a father for fifteen. You got yourself a good woman, Chris. Trust me, I know. So try not to screw this up."

Chris chuckled. "Evil Ed said the same thing."

Graham grinned. "Guess that brilliant minds do think alike."

At that moment, Jill emerged from the bottom of the pool. At the same time, Chris stopped the timer on the stopwatch. Taking a deep breath, Jill turned to her husband. "How long was that?" she asked.

"Twenty minutes, thirty-six seconds," Chris replied.

"Most impressive, Valentine," Graham added.

Jill beamed from the praise.

"Honestly, I'm surprised that you allowed yourself to be subject to your husband's experiments," Graham noted.

"Easier for me, and a lot less painful," Jill replied. She then extended her hand to Chris. "Come on. Help me out."

Chris complied. He tossed the stopwatch to Graham and moved over to the edge of the pool. A mischievous glint appeared in Jill's eyes as her hand enclosed around Chris's own. Chris could only let out a surprised yell before Jill tossed him into the pool.

Chris emerged seconds later. "That was dirty, Valentine," he said.

"That was the idea," his wife replied.

Chris splashed her. Jill splashed back.

Graham decided to leave the couple alone. 'Ah, to be young and in love,' he thought as he left the pool. They would catch up later on inside the workout room. 

* * *

At the same time, in an unknown location...

The Family - a centuries-old secret organization of whose influence dwarfed that of Umbrella Incorporated. Their goal was a simple one: to ensure global stability under their watch. Some say that they have been in existence for centuries, but in truth, The Family's origins came about during the American Revolutionary War.

The Family also had great interest in the United States, and used its resources to build it into the superpower that it is today. The Family was ran by a nine-person Council, of which one Derek Clifford Simmons was not only a member, but its current head. Simmons' cover was that of a politician from Colorado. The same state in which Raccoon City once stood. Since then, Simmons have been watching the movements of the Anti-Umbrella Faction closely.

Mainly, two of Raccoon's survivors, Sherry Birkin, the daughter of the late William Birkin, creator of the G-virus, and Jillianne Valentine, reformed thief ex-Raccoon S.T.A.R.S. operative, currently a First Lieutenant in the Air Force and Patient Zero for Project Valentine.

At the moment, Simmons was in the middle of a video conference with the other eight members of the Council. Everything was done by a majority vote, and unlike the President of the United States, the leader of The Family had no veto power. The topic was that of Umbrella and of the aforementioned survivors, Sherry and Jill.

"The Anri-Umbrella faction has been picking up steam," Simmons reported. "Umbrella has been hit pretty hard in the aftermath of the Raccoon City Incident, having lost several hidden laboratories including the ones at Caliban Cove and the Mojave, but is still considered a threat to the security of the country."

"I told you that it was a bad idea to go into business with Spencer and his ilk," one of the members said. They did not use their real names, but rather numbers. He was known only as No.2. "Didn't I tell all of you that it was a bad idea to deal with Umbrella?"

"Yes, we know, you old fool," the first of two females replied snidely. She was known as No.4. "You haven't shut your mouth over it following Raccoon's destruction."

Simmons cleared his throat, silencing the two bickering members. "Lord Spencer has been in contact with me, claiming that two of his employees, William Birkin and Albert Wesker, had gone rogue, which led to the events surrounding the biohazard outbreak. He also has reassured me of his organization's efforts to contain the bad publicity surrounding the outbreak in Raccoon."

"Bah. Empty promises from a decrepit old man," No.6 said.

"I agree," Simmons said. "As much as it pains me to say this, Ozwell Spencer and Umbrella are expendable. It's only a matter of time before Umbrella falls, and takes Lord Spencer with it. Speaking of Raccoon City, there are two survivors which are persons of interest. I trust that you have received their files earlier this week."

"Yes," the other female - No.8 - replied. "Sherry Birkin and Jillianne Valentine."

"Both women have been exposed to Umbrella's viruses," continued Simmons, "In Valentine's case, she is Patient Zero for Project Valentine, the same project in which her mother had worked on. Reports indicate that Birkin's exposure to the G-virus has left her with a healing factor which can be useful in the future, while for all purposes, not only is Valentine considered to be the original super soldier due to P-20 bonding to her DNA, but there is a dormant strain of T-virus antibodies in her blood. I move that we send in a retrieval team to pick the both of them up and have them moved to our facility in China where we can run tests."

"You are proposing that we kidnap these two women?" No.3 asked, disbelief in his voice. "One of which is a 12-year-old girl and the other an Air Force officer?"

"I prefer the term 'strategic extraction,'" corrected Simmons mildly. "I have the team on standby. All it needs is the go-ahead from all of you. Imagine what we can learn from them, what secrets their blood holds. What I do is for the good of this country. We move in, extract them, and..."

"No."

Simmons blinked. "Excuse me?"

"I vote no," No.3 repeated. "Birkin has been through a horrific experience. We already have her blood samples, as well as those of Lieutenant Valentine. I see no reason to kidnap innocent women."

"I concur," No. 8 added.

"I also vote no," No. 4 said.

"My vote is yes," No.7 said.

"I also vote yes," No.9 added.

"No," No.6 said.

"Pain in the ass. My vote is no," No.5 drawled.

"My vote is also no," No.2 said. "Motion to 'retrieve' Birkin and Valentine denied by a vote of six to three."

Simmons growled. Even as leader of the Family, he was not exempt from the rules, lest he found himself outed from the fraternity that his family had founded...or 'retired permanently.'

"Right now, we will continue to monitor both Birkin and Valentine," No.3 said. "Tell the retrieval team to stand down, No.1."

"Fine," Simmons huffed. "I will tell the men to stand down."

"Your family may have founded this order," No.4 said, "but that does not make you infallible, No.1. Our decision is final. Failure to comply will be most unwise."

With that, the meeting was over. Simmons was fuming over the fact that both Birkin and Valentine had slipped through his fingers.

"I take it the Council has disagreed with your proposal?" Dr. Carla Radames asked as she emerged from the shadows. A gifted and talented scientist, she had been working for Simmons for the past year, her main area of expertise was virology.

"Very," Simmons grounded. "Majority vote. I am forbidden to make a move against both Birkin and Valentine."

"Perhaps it is for the best," Carla said. "I seriously doubt that her husband would just stand by and let you kidnap both his wife and ward. On top of that, she is protected by both the Anti-Umbrella faction and the Consortium."

Simmons snorted. "A bunch of toothless worms who think they hold the power."

"They do have the power to make things difficult for you," reminded the scientist. "Besides, I have it in good faith that Redfield is conducting his own experiments on his wife."

Simmons turned around in his chair. "Oh? How so?"

"By testing Valentine's limits. And the results are promising. She can hold her breath for about 20 minutes, enhanced senses and agility."

"Chris Redfield thinks he knows what he is doing," Simmons replied. "But all he is doing is holding Valentine back. Project Valentine can prove to be beneficial in the long run. Seeing as how there are no reports on P20, as Dr. Valentin had destroyed all of her notes when she used her daughter as a test subject, the secrets are contained within Valentine's body. The samples we have from the Consortium are not enough."

"You do realize that Lord Spencer is also interested in Project Valentine," Carla said. "The Wolfpack has been assigned to retrieve Lieutenant Valentine. So far, all attempts have failed. Beltway was reported killed while in France by Valentine, while Four-Eyes died at the hands of Ada Wong."

Simmons frowned. He had not heard from Ada ever since he had given the order for Raccoon City to be destroyed following the viral outbreak. There were rumors that she was with a rival Organization somewhere in Europe, working alongside Albert Wesker. He had not heard from her since.

Simmons mulled over that a moment. "If Umbrella gets a hold of Valentine, then I can circumvent around the Council and have her brought to our Nevada facility. Looks like Umbrella will do my work for me. Where is Valentine now?"

"Back home from her honeymoon," Carla replied. "Andrews Air Force Base."

Simmons nodded. "I can wait. I am a patient man. I will simply bide my time. In the meantime, how goes the research into the T-Veronica virus?"

"The notes and documents which had been retrieved from Chris Redfield have been instrumental in my research," Carla replied. Following Chris's rescue of his sister, The Family had confiscated the notes on the T-Veronica virus. Unknown to them, they were only copies of the actual documents, as Chris made copies of the documents, showing that he had learned from his mistakes following the Spencer Mansion fiasco in which Umbrella had stolen the documents that he, Jill and Rebecca had gathered. The documents were in a safe-deposit box.

"How so?"

Carla went through her notes. "As you already know, the late Alexia Ashford created the T-Veronica virus by combining a sample of the T-virus with that of a retrovirus found inside the remains of an ant queen. We were able to retrieve samples of the virus from the Rockfort Island facility and from the ruins of the Antarctic facility. Right now, I am replicating the virus in order to have a sufficient amount for my research."

"What are you planning to do?" Simmons asked.

"It may take some time," replied Carla, "but I think I can remove the genetic code of the virus which causes the mutations and combine it with various pieces of the Progenitor Virus."

"You mean to create a new virus?"

"In a way, yes."

Of course The Family did not know of Simmons' intentions. They would disapprove. "Very well. Continue your research," he ordered.

Carla nodded and departed from the room, leaving Simmons alone. He leaned back in his chair and after a moment, punched in several keys on his keyboard. The dossiers of Jill Valentine and Sherry Birkin soon appeared on screen, complete with photos. 

* * *

Inside the workout room, Jill sneezed as she worked on the heavy punching bag. 'Odd. Someone must be talking about me,' she thought.

Shaking the thought out of her head, Jill resumed to work on the bag. Clad in her favorite workout clothes – the sleeveless shirt with the S.T.A.R.S. Insignia on the back and her pair of track pants and tennis shoes, dark hair pulled back into a ponytail, hands taped up in boxing tape, she moved around the heavy punching bag, pounding on it in a methodical manner, occasionally kicking it and planting forearm and elbow strikes to it as well.

Just as with the Raccoon S.T.A.R.S., the Anti-Umbrella faction was also training. Barry and Erez were working the weights. Marissa, Caroline and Sienna were on the treadmill, HUNK was performing pushups in the far corner, Jettingham and Rebecca were working the smaller weights beside Barry and Erez. As Claire did not have any classes, she too was present at Chris' request. Just because she was working with TerraSave did not mean that she could afford to slack off in her training.

Bruce, Kimbala and Billy were outside, running laps around the building. In the meantime, Chris entered the workout room, followed by Graham. Both men were dressed in workout clothes. Colonel Graham was pretty adamant in keeping the soldiers under his command in trim, fighting form. Unlike Wesker, Graham himself took part in the training, both to keep in shape himself and to keep morale up for his subordinates.

As Chris had once said to Jill, "There is a major difference in a commanding officer who sits behind a desk and says 'go and attack the enemy' and one who says 'okay, boys, follow my lead.'"

Graham walked over to where HUNK was working out and started to perform sit-ups while Chris made his way to his wife. Chris was dressed up in his own warm-ups, the same ones he usually wore while training. In the four years they've known each other, Jill had came a long way with Chris as her training partner. Aside from being his wife and partner, she was also his rival, her hand-to-hand and marksman abilities rivaled that of his own.

"Still feeling frustrated?" Chris asked.

"What do you think?" Jill replied as she kicked the heavy bag.

"I'll take that as a yes. But you're starting to accept it."

Jill stopped punching the bag and faced her husband. "And how do you know that?" she asked.

Chris grinned. "I know you better than you know yourself. Comes from being both your husband and partner."

Jill frowned. Then she cocked one fist back and let it fly at Chris' head...

...only for him to catch her wrist. By now, the other members of the Anti-Umbrella unit had taken notice of the confrontation between husband and wife.

"See? You're easy," Chris said.

"Prove it," challenged Jill.

Chris grinned. He released his wife's wrist and walked over to the practice mat, Jill following him. Now, the other members of the Anti-Umbrella group had formed around the pair, watching the inevitable confrontation with great interest.

"So, how do we play this out?" Chris asked as he and Jill began to stretch.

"Easy. First to four points wins," Jill replied. "And loser buys the winner dinner."

"Deal," Chris replied. "Just because you're my wife does not mean I'm going going to cut you some slack," he said.

Jill grinned. "Good. I wouldn't want it any way."

Husband and wife faced off. Jill shifted into a defensive stance. Chris did the same. Jill did not even flinch as Chris's fist stopped an in short of caving her nose in.

"One-zero," Chris said.

Jill responded by swatting Chris's hand to the side, and counterattacked, and just as Chris had done, stopping from crushing Chris's trachea with her own fist.

"One-one," replied Jill.

Chris grinned. As Jill backed up, Chris moved in. Jill got a close-up of his forearm, which was two inches from her jaw.

"Two-one, Valentine," Chris said. "Try not to lose focus."

On the sidelines, Rebecca nudged Barry. "Who you think will win?" she asked.

"Hard to say," Barry replied. "Jill's come a long way training under Chris. It's up in the air."

Meanwhile, Chris swatted Jill's kick to the head, which was followed by her backhand. He responded by slipping through her defenses, but Jill was expecting that from her husband. She hoped into the air, legs wrapping around her husband's neck, and using her momentum, flung him to the ground, leaving Chris stunned from the Frankensteiner.

"Two-two, Redfield," Jill said as Chris got back to his feet, rubbing his neck, "Better watch it."

They squared off again. Chris telegraphed Jill's low kick to his shin, and countered with a Rolling Sobat, forcing Jill to duck. Chris spun around and fired off several punches, but Jill, showing off her Delta Force combat training, countered by flinging Chris to the ground. She stopped from stomping his chest in with her foot.

"Two-three," noted Jill.

Jettingham grinned. He was the one who taught Jill that move.

"Captain Redfield," warned Graham, "don't lose your focus."

But Chris had not lost his focus. He was clearly enjoying himself, as was Jill. Jill rushed in, hoping to end the match, only to have Chris flip her onto the mat, tying the match at three points each. Jill performed a suicide kip-up and the couple began to trade blows, blocking and parrying the other's attacks, neither gaining the advantage.

It was one of the main reasons why their bond was so strong. Chris did not hold back when it came to training Jill, and she accepted the challenge. Chris drove her to better herself and vice versa.

"She's good," Ronson noted.

"That she is," HUNK said. "Redfield has been training her well."

"I heard you've been involved with her training as well," Ronson said.

HUNK nodded. "She interests me. Not since Specter have I had such an interesting pupil, especially a super-soldier."

Meanwhile, Chris and Jill were still going at it. Then Chris made his mistake. Jill ducked under his punch, and landed a rabbit punch to the chestplate, which was followed by her performing the Valentine Special – the handless somersault throw which Jill had used during the Raccoon National Bank robbery.

Only this time, Chris landed on his back instead of face-down, and Jill was on top of him, pinning him to the mat.

The match was over. Jill had won. "Looks like I win," Jill said, grinning.

Meanwhile, the others began to disperse, returning to their previous workout. "More training for you, Redfield," Graham said before going back to his workout.

Chris had tried to get back up, but Jill pinned him to the ground. "You know, I kind of like this position," she mused.

"I thought you gave up being an exhibitionist," Chris said. "You're lucky that the others are here. Otherwise, I'd pounce on you."

"Pervert. Just for that, you're making me dinner," she said. "Terriyaki beef. And just to be fair, I'll buy the ingredients." 

* * *

Redfield Home, Andrews AFB.

Jill had a smile on her face as she watched Chris work in the kitchen, with Claire and Sherry assisting him in making dinner. Sherry was chopping vegetables while Claire was helping Chris in frying the meat. Leon was seated beside her, reading a magazine. "How is it that I spend a fortune on cooking classes and can hardly boil water, yet you can cook like a professional chef, but spend most of your time out on the shooting range?"

"You pick things up," Chris replied. "I had to learn how to cook, seeing as how I was raising Claire on my own."

Jill shook her head. "Unbelievable."

Sherry snickered at Jill's distress. In the months following her coming to the Redfields, she began to see Claire as an older sister, while Chris and Jill were the parents she always wanted. Despite their busy schedule, they always made time for her.

"If you want, I can teach you how to cook," offered Chris. "It's not that hard."

"No thanks," replied Jill.

Sherry was too busy in watching the couple fight that she did not pay attention to what she was doing. "OW!" she yelped as she accidentally cut herself on the hand with the knife. She swore softly to herself as she held her hand close.

"Sherry? What happened?" Claire asked.

"I cut my hand," Sherry replied.

"Let me see," Chris said as he turned the heat down on the meat. Jill and Leon walked over to the girl, also concerned. Chris inspected her hand. "That's bad. Looks like you're going to need stitches."

"No. It won't," Sherry replied calmly, wondering how her guardians and Claire would take what was coming next.

"Sherry," Chris admonished. "This looks bad and could...get...worse..." His eyes widened at what he had seen. Jill and Claire's own eyes followed suit.

The wound in Sherry's hand was closing. Seconds later, the wound had completely vanished. Not even a scar remained. It it was not for the blood on her hand, you would not have noticed that there was a wound there.

"That's...interesting," Claire said, still flabbergasted.

"A healing factor," Chris mused, the genuis side of him coming out. "How long have you known?"

"Since Raccoon City."

Chris had remembered Claire mentioning that she had synthesized a G-virus vaccine for Sherry when her monstrous father had infected her back in Raccoon City. "Hmm...the vaccine that Claire have given you obviously had some side effects. Being able to heal from any injury...that's something."

Sherry was surprised to see that Claire, Leon and her guardians were taking the news well. "You...you're not mad?" she asked.

Chris shook his head. "Of course not," he replied, causing Sherry to breathe a sigh of relief. "You're not the only one in this house who has a personal connection with Umbrella." He looked at Jill, remembering what Wesker had told them about Project V, not to mention her own personal connection with the organization.

Sherry followed Chris' gaze. "You?" she asked Jill.

Jill nodded. "Yeah. Me. Ironic as how Umbrella saved my life twice over, yet I'm working to destroy them."

And Jill told them. Of her mother, Miyako Valentin, and of 'Project Valentine.' She also told them of her exposure to the T-virus and of how Carlos had managed to cure her shortly before Raccoon City vanished under a mushroom cloud.

Sherry could only say one word after that. "Wow."

Claire nodded.

"Simply put," concluded Jill, "P20 saved my life, but it modified me down to a genetic level, making me in effect, a super-soldier."

"You can see my interest in this, as well as that of Umbrella," Chris continued. "Umbrella made it clear that they want her for their bioweapons research. The Wolfpack tried to capture her when we retrieved HUNK back in Europe. Now, Jill is my own science project."

"What about the federal government?" Leon asked. "If they catch wind of this, then you'll never see the light of day."

"Dr. Kobayashi and the Consortium knows about Project Valentine," replied Jill. "Add the fact that I am already an employee of the federal government and a member of the Anti-Umbrella faction, and I am very well protected."

"Umbrella has been working on a super-soldier program for many years," explained Chris. "When that failed, they decided to focus on bioweapons and viral research." He looked at Claire. "Claire never stopped worrying about you. When Graham found you, Jill and I took it upon ourselves to take you in as your guardians, in order to give you a stable home around friends."

Sherry smiled. "Thank you."

After washing her hand clean of the blood, the cooking session resumed, this time Sherry being more careful this time in cutting the vegetables. But as Sherry did so, the smile never left her face.

**OMAKE!**

Macau Redux

Macau, China

Albert Wesker was surprised to hear that Chris Redfield had married Jill Valentine. In fact, he had not only suspected that he married her in the aftermath of the Spencer Mansion Incident, but had been romantically involved for several months before that fateful mission.

Had he not had such a hatred for his former subordinates for ruining his plans, Wesker would have been mildly impressed – and annoyed – with their keeping their relationship a secret for so long.

The Organization had made it clear that both Captain Redfield and Lieutenant Valentine were off-limits. But that didn't mean that Wesker could keep a watch on their exploits.

Umbrella knew about Project Valentine, and had attempted to 'retrieve' Jill in the aftermath of the Spencer Mansion fiasco. Now, Lord Spencer himself has ordered the Wolfpack to retrieve Valentine herself. Their first attempt ended with the death of their explosives expert, Beltway, killed by Valentine.

Their second casualty, the virologist Four-Eyes, was killed by Ada Wong, bringing down their members to just four.

"Those two have the luck of the devil," Wesker had said after reading up on their exploits following the destruction of Raccoon City.

'But their luck is about to run out,' Wesker thought darkly as he walked through the corridors of the Venetian Macao. He had received word that both Chris and Jill were spending their honeymoon here.

A honeymoon he planned on cutting short.

The unknown source was very thorough. Not only did Wesker received the location of the hotel, but also their room number. Wesker had to admit that Chris and Jill had excellent taste, as Wesker himself spent time at the Venetian himself, as Macao was home to an Umbrella sales office.

He was dressed as a tourist – black suit and shoes, with a turtleneck sweater, shades hiding his inhuman eyes, his Samurai Edge in his shoulder holster.

What the Organization did not know wouldn't hurt them, Wesker surmised. He would simply crash Chris and Jill's honeymoon, throw him out the window and kidnap Jill to use for his research.

The former S.T.A.R.S. Commander stopped in front of a door. Room 920. Wesker unholstered his handgun and took a step back. One superhuman kick to the door reduced it to three pieces.

Too bad the couple in question that were getting it on was not Chris or Jill.

"BAKA HENTAI!" a female voice screeched.

Wesker frowned. He knew that Jill was half-Japanese, even heard her speak fluent Japanese. But she did not speak it with a Kansai accent.

The couple in question was Japanese, and Wesker had just crashed their wedding anniversary.

The couple emerged from their bed, not caring that they were still in the nude, but absolutely furious that the gaijin had interupted their anniversary nooky. The man was as mentioned, Japanese, shorter than Chris at five-feet-eleven and a quarter inches, and incredibly muscular. What stood out was the various scars all over his body, particulary the mass of scar tissue starting from his left shoulder and ending on the right side of his torso. His hair was styled into a spike, one eye brown, the other blood red.

The woman was shorter than the man by four inches, and was built like a dancer. Short black hair ended at her shoulders, the brown eyes showing a combination of anger and annoyance.

(A.N.: Guess who?)

There were several things which pissed off Kazuya Mishima. Interrupting his quality time with his wife was No.1 on that list. Messing with his Johnny Cash music collection was a close second. The same can be said for his wife, Jun Kazama.

Wesker tried to retreat...but saw the woman - who had just been standing at her husband's side moments earlier - blocking his exit. And before his eyes, the woman changed.

Her eyes went from brown to yellow. Her body - from her breasts down to her feet became covered in a black, oozelike material, as were her forearms and hands.

"Doku ka ni iku (Going somewhere)?" Jun - or rather, Unknwon - asked, her voice disorted.

Feeling a sense of dread, Wesker spun around.

The man before him also transformed, but his transformation proved even more terryfing. Kazuya had transformed into his Devil form, complete with leathery bat-wings. He cracked his knuckles and began to advance on Wesker, who raised his gun and fired off several rounds at Devil.

"Watashi wa omoshiro ga-tsu tenaidesu (I am not amused)," Devil replied, before blasting Wesker's Samurai Edge out of his hand.

Then the demonic couple pounced on the superman.

Even with Wesker's superhuman attributes, the double-team had left Wesker a bleeding, mangled mess. As a final indignity, Devil threw Wesker out of the hotel window. Nine stories later, Wesker landed on top of an expensive sedan. Any other person would have died on impact. But Wesker would be invalid for the next several weeks.

From their window, Devil and Unknown reverted back to their human forms, Kazuya donning a pair of pants while Jun had a bedsheet draped over her body.

Looking down on Wesker's mangled form, Kazuya said one thing. "Humph. Kudaran (Pitiful)."


End file.
